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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

Endeavor

Endeavor fosters economic advancement in growth markets by launching high-impact entrepreneurs.

FAST FACTS

400,000+

high-quality jobs created by Endeavor companies

2 million

people impacted directly by Endeavor companies

97%

of Endeavor companies are still in operation, compared to most entrepreneurial ventures in the same markets, which close within 42 months

Spotlight: Soraya Salti

by | Mar 9, 2012 | Community Development, Education, INJAZ Al-Arab, Soraya Salti

In 2009, PBS’ Frontline/World discussed problems that youth are facing in Cairo, Egypt, noting that there is an average five-year wait for a decent job, even for college graduates. Thankfully, one of this year’s Kravis Prize winners, INJAZ Al-Arab Executive Director Soraya Salti, is working to broaden opportunities for Arab youth. INJAZ Al-Arab runs programs in a dozen countries in the Middle East and North Africa region, including Egypt, that aim to provide experiential education and training to Arab youth in work readiness, financial literacy and entrepreneurship. PBS interviewed Salti regarding the organization’s mission. She discussed the importance of teaching students practical business-related skills in conjunction with their regular educational curriculum: “When you have youth who are educated and unemployed, what will they do with their lives? Either these youth become a burden on our economies or they become an engine of growth and prosperity. We want to catch them before they’re unemployed and we want to instill in them the entrepreneurial spirit and entrepreneurial skillset so that they can create their employment opportunity. We want to create excitement. What’s the best thing to do more than create the competition for entrepreneurs?” As part of INJAZ’s goal to inspire entrepreneurship and invigorate Arab youth, the organization holds an annual competition for the best student company, which is judged by the innovativeness and profitability of the businesses. Watch the video to see how INJAZ is inspiring Arab youth to pave their own future through creative and interactive programs! You can also read PBS’ extended interview with Soraya Salti. To find out more about Soraya Salti, check out her Kravis Prize...

Spotlight: mothers2mothers

by | Mar 1, 2012 | Female Empowerment, m2m

Here at the Kravis Prize, we are proud to sponsor some of the most innovative nonprofits, including one of this year’s Kravis Prize winners, mothers2mothers. Not only does m2m help to educate pregnant women and new mothers on how to prevent HIV transmission to their unborn babies, the organization also provides social support to HIV-positive women and helps them access existing healthcare services. Unique in its innovative approach to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT), m2m is widely recognized around the world and receives support from organizations including UNICEF. Studies have also been conducted to capture the impact of m2m’s programs, which show how m2m is truly a leader in this area. In 2007, USAID, the Human Sciences Research Council and the Population Council conducted an evaluation of 17 m2m sites in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, which provide services five days per week to women at the clinics. m2m staff are also available to go home with a mother who requests support for HIV status disclosure to a partner and/or other family members. Researchers interviewed HIV-positive pregnant and postpartum women that participated in the m2m program and those who did not. The study found that “m2m participants had greater psychosocial well-being, greater use of PMTCT services, and better PMTCT outcomes.” In fact, “more than nine out of 10 pregnant program participants felt that they could do things to help themselves, cope with taking care of their infants, and live positively.” “The findings suggest that m2m plays an important role in providing a continuum of care for HIV-positive women and their infants. The program strives to keep women linked to health...

Soraya Salti and m2m are the 2012 Kravis Prize winners!

by | Feb 22, 2012 | INJAZ Al-Arab, m2m, Soraya Salti, Uncategorized

Established in 2006, the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership recognizes and celebrates extraordinary accomplishment and bold leadership in the nonprofit sector. Over the years, the Prize has provided funding for the extraordinary efforts of the Rural Development Institute, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, the Forum For African Women Educationalists (FAWE), the Afghan Institute of Learning, Pratham and Escuela Nueva. However, the Kravis Prize offers much more than just financial support – we strive to share our recipients’ best practices with the nonprofit community and inspire future generations to become nonprofit leaders. This year, we are delighted to announce not one, but TWO winners of the seventh annual Kravis Prize in Leadership: Soraya Salti, CEO of Arab educational mentoring program INJAZ Al-Arab, and mothers2mothers, an organization that helps to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS through the education and support of mothers with HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa! We’ll feature our amazing winners on our blog over the next few weeks, but check out the press release to learn some basic facts about Salti and...