About Endeavor
Founded in 1997, Endeavor fosters economic growth in countries worldwide by selecting, mentoring, and accelerating high-impact entrepreneurs. Endeavor’s entrepreneurs lead fast-growing businesses that generate jobs in Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. Endeavor provides its entrepreneurs with a network of seasoned business leaders who provide key ingredients to entrepreneurial success: mentorship, networks, strategic advice, and inspiration. Over the past 17 years, Endeavor Entrepreneurs have created more than 400,000 high quality jobs, directly reaching more than two million people across the world. Endeavor has achieved tangible results, with individuals working for Endeavor companies doubling their income over baseline or previous jobs, and Endeavor companies growing revenue 2.4 times faster than comparable firms over three years.
Current Operations of Endeavor
Endeavor is dedicated to high-impact entrepreneurship. Its main operations focus on identifying and supporting the continued growth of a select group of entrepreneurs, creating jobs, and adding revenues to foster entrepreneurship in those societies. Endeavor currently works in 21 countries across the world. In recent years, Endeavor’s operations have expanded into several countries; Endeavor launched in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Greece in 2012, Miami (US), Malaysia, and Morocco in 2013, and Peru and Spain in 2014.In 2011, Endeavor launched Endeavor Catalyst, a passive co-investment pool that uses donated funds to support Endeavor Entrepreneurs’ professional funding rounds and to provide funding for Endeavor’s growth and financial sustainability. Endeavor Catalyst has raised approximately $15 million to date and has made its first nine investments.
Approach and Distinguishing Features
Endeavor is an organization of, by, and for entrepreneurs. Endeavor believes that entrepreneurship is vital to economic growth and job creation, and recognizes the reality that entrepreneurs in growth markets face obstacles that inhibit successful scaling of businesses, such as limited management expertise, lack of role models, contacts, investors, etc. To this end, Endeavor provides immense support to rising entrepreneurs and acts as a springboard to catalyze their success with business establishment and job creation. Over 80% of Endeavor’s entrepreneurs give back to their local affiliates and commit to mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Endeavor’s entrepreneurs lead fast-growing, typically for-profit businesses that generate jobs and create revenues in growth markets. Endeavor looks for businesses with the potential to scale and become world-class ventures and industry leaders. Endeavor is distinct from many other organizations in its focus on high-growth, high-impact, for-profit companies that can scale. Academic research demonstrates that high-impact entrepreneurs generate a disproportionate number of jobs over other entrepreneurs.
2015 Kravis Prize
Pratham Books: Increasing access & literacy
A common characteristic of Kravis Prize winners is their widespread impact within their fields of expertise. 2010 Kravis Prize winner Pratham is a renowned innovator and leader in the field of education. The organization educates countless children through its programs, such as Read India, and also publishes cheap, accessible books through its not-for-profit publisher, Pratham Books. Through Pratham Books, the organization offers high quality books for children at affordable prices and in multiple Indian languages. For example, Madhuri Purandare, a reputable Marathi children’s book writer and illustrator, is publishing two of her books in English through Pratham Books! The books are already available in Hindi, Kannada and Telugu, and the publisher continues to expand its reach. In fact, Purandare’s books embody the spirit of Pratham Books: “It has simple language and consists of daily experiences, but not of the usual kind. These are ones, which the children can relate to. … Different topics should be taken and for different age groups. There is less literature for the 10 plus group. There is little literature available for those above 10, but nothing after that. If it is available, then I think the kids will read them.” “Words for children” [The Pune Mirror, May 25, 2012] Learn more about Pratham on our page and check out Pratham Books’...INJAZ Al-Arab: Paving the way for youth entrepreneurship
What sets Kravis Prize winners apart from other social entrepreneurs is their aim to empower those who do not have their own voice. 2012 Kravis Prize winner Soraya Salti’s INJAZ Al-Arab is a perfect example. Youth unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa is the highest in the world and INJAZ Al-Arab is working to remedy this problem. As part of the Global Journal’s series on the New Global Generation of Female Change-Makers, the publication interviewed INJAZ Al-Arab Executive Director Soraya Salti, who discussed the importance of youth entrepreneurship. “[The youth] realize that due to population demographics governments are no longer hiring – they can’t cope with the influx of graduates – and the private sector discriminates against them. So their only avenue for economic inclusion is entrepreneurship, and we see that reflected very, very strongly in the motivation of young females we work with. They take the entrepreneurship experience and opportunity we give them as a raison d’etre. They put their hearts and souls completely into it.” Salti also offered some insight into how and why the government is beginning to work with the organization: “I think it was a moment of awakening for governments, that the biggest national security issue is unemployment. In the short-term, we have been looked upon as a solution provider – by the Jordanian government, by the Saudi government, by the Bahraini government. It’s made our life a lot easier in a way, because so much of our effort went into piloting, and proof of concept, and convincing ministries of education to really take us seriously and invest and give us the...