WHY ENDEAVOR?
Traditional means of promoting international development have not catalyzed high-growth entrepreneurship. Micro-finance programs provide subsistence-level loans to the poorest of the poor. Government and private equity investments in large, established companies. A gap exists. Endeavor bridges this gap.
Endeavor targets high-growth, innovative entrepreneurs in emerging market–the segment poised to create the most jobs. Entrepreneurship in developing countries will not happen naturally. A series of barriers impede new business creation:
- Closed networks for people without family connections
- Limited access to capital, training and mentoring
- Few local entrepreneurial role models
- Inadequate education on new venture creation
- Lack of trust among entrepreneurs, the private sector & government institutions
Endeavor's model systematically eliminates these barriers.
WHY SOUTH AFRICA?
The biggest challenge faced by South Africa is unemployment, consistently above 30% of the economically active population. Government empowerment initiatives designed to drive broader representation in the economy have tended to redistribute existing wealth rather than create new sources of wealth. In addition, current local initiatives to support potential entrepreneurs tend to focus on entry level, driving the development of a multitude of micro enterprises, few of which move beyond the subsistence level.
The Endeavor model has been identified by the World Bank as the best approach to assisting high potential entrepreneurs in Sub Saharan Africa to grow their businesses, with the knock-on effect of increasing the number of jobs and building the economy.
South Africa is globally recognized as a country that has achieved a miracle. Endeavor takes that achievement to a new level by promoting local high impact entrepreneurs.
View a video about Endeavor South Africa on You Tube: