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
For FAWE in Rwanda, 1,200 is a magic number
Why is 1,200 a magic number? Because it refers to all of the young Rwandan women from vulnerable families who will have a chance to finish their schooling thanks to a project co-created by the Rwandan Chapter of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE). The 2008 recipient of the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership, FAWE started in the early 1990s when the female ministers of education in five African countries decided that more education advocacy was needed on behalf of women across the continent. FAWE’s inception in five countries has grown to 32 African countries today. This month FAWE’s Rwanda chapter in collaboration with the Canadian MasterCard Foundation has launched The MasterCard Foundation Scholars Programme to enable as many as 1,200 schoolgirls to continue their educations through the elementary, secondary, and university levels. Already, in the weeks since the scholars program began, some 200 school-age women have been enrolled in the program, according to a report featured in The New Times of Kigali. Eugénie Mukanoheli, the Rwanda chapter’s coordinator, said a similar project will soon be operating in Ethiopia as well. “The idea is to keep as many girls as possible in school,” she told The New Times. “The scholars will have everything they need to study comfortably… but the beneficiaries must be schoolgirls who are academically bright but from vulnerable families.” When the new program is fully operational, organizers plan to identify potential candidates across the country, including at least ten selected high schools. *** In a related story: 15 girls in a FAWE secondary school in Sierra Leone have also received scholarship assistance that will ensure...
m2m makes Mother’s Day a time for social impact
Mother’s Day is a golden opportunity not just to honor our own mothers, but many others, too. 2012 Kravis Prize recipient mothers2mothers has teamed up with an award-winning journalist and a philanthropic non-profit as part of their campaign, “Double Your Mommy,” which is tapping into this year’s holiday to maximize outreach to impoverished women around the world. At first glance, the “Double Your Mommy” page established by the 13-year-old organization, which is dedicated to reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, presents a variety of Mom-themed gifts like most department stores and boutiques. Look closer, though, and you’ll find a decided difference. Philanthropic organization Modropy, which has partnered with the American Cancer Society, Royal Family Kids, and several autism groups among many others, has created shirts, hoodies, and totes for m2m. Proceeds from the sales will go to support m2m’s programming and services. To learn more about Modropy, visit its homepage. According to m2m co-founder Robin Smalley, these proceeds will be doubled by an anonymous donor to increase the services that they can provide to m2m’s staff and Mentor Mothers working in sub-Saharan Africa. Journalist Jennifer Haupt, whose e-book Will You Be My Mother? The Quest to Answer ‘Yes’ looks at her experiences in genocide-torn Rwanda, is also donating sales from her memoir to m2m. These purchases — along with several other items offered on the “Double Your Mommy” page (including donations to support educational materials, nutritional assistance, cell phones, and more)— include a Mother’s Day card that will be mailed or emailed to each customer’s mother so that they’re aware of the impact of their gift on lives in another country....