The Endeavor South Africa office will be offiicially closed from 23 Dec - 6 Jan

HIGHLIGHTS OF GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP WEEK (16-22 Nov) Global entrepreneurship week was an enterprise supported by thousands of people around the country. A number of initiatives took place in order to unload all the challenges facing entrepreneurship and come up with realistic and innovative ideas that will be of great value to entrepreneurs around the globe. Go and have a look at the picture gallery more...  'THE STATE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN SOUTH AFRICA' SUMMIT (19 NOVEMBER) Endeavor was excited to have hosted such a successful engagement. The summit was held on the 19th of November, and was a great platform to initiate a debate that influenced so many people’s thinking on entrepreneurship.Coverage of the summit can be found on YouTube.  more...  THE SECOND EXCELERATOR SELECTION PANEL HELD ON 3 NOVEMBER 2009 Endeavor is proud to announce that on the 3rd November 2009, five exciting companies were selected at the 2nd Excelerator Panel in Johannesburg.  The Excelerator programme aims to support innovative, early stage companies and transform them in to sustainable, high impact businesses as well as role models for society. We are happy to announce that the five pioneering companies that were selected are SmartCrutch, New Ground Distribution, Mielie, Scratch Mobile and Dignity Boards.  Endeavor is excited to get actively involved in these businesses and see them grow. We are continually on the lookout  for potential candidates for upcoming panels in 2010.  Please do not hesitate to inform us of any exciting and innovative companies that you come across.  You can send your nominations through to Affiong Williams (affiong.williams@endeavor.co.za) for follow up of any candidates.  more... THE CUTTING EDGE - STUDIO 5 HOSTS A FASHION SHOW Studio 05, one of the most innvoative fashion schools in Jo'burg, is trying to build a culture in young people and society as a whole through the notion of developing young talent and giving young people better opportunities so that they can develop the ”I can do it “attitude. The Fashion school aims at establishing an educational institution that will develop the fashion talent of tomorrow.  Cecilia (founder) believes in cultivating and growing the fashion industry through educating young people and giving the students industry-based exposure as well as the correct resources being made available to them.  Fashion requires innovation and hard work and young people need access to thought leaders and to believe in themselves.  The fashion institution hosted a fashion show on 6th December to showcase innovation and talent.¼/span>more... THE SOUTH AFRICA FAST GROWTH 100 COMPETITION - APPLY NOW The South Africa fast growth 100 competition was launched at the entrepreneurial summit on the 19th of November 2009. This initiative was founded by the Prof. Michael Porter of Harvard Business school's AllWorld Network and being launched in collaboration with Endeavor SA.   The programme aims to showcase the country’s most innovative and dynamic privately owned companies that spur growth, create jobs, and foster prosperity. more... You have to be on that list. Email apply[at]nexteconomics.com.       ENDEAVOR RAISES OVER $1.8M AT ANNUAL GALA DINNER, NEW YORK CITY - 5 NOVEMBER 2009 On November 5, Endeavor Global's annual Gala fundraiser brought together approximately 500 top executives from the Endeavor network and multiple industries for a dinner celebration. Endeavor raised over $1.8 million. This year's honoree and 2009 Entrepreneur of the Year was Jonathan Nelson, CEO of Providence Equity- the world's leading private equity firm focused on media, entertainment, communications, and information investments. In addition to Jonathan and Judy Nelson, the event was co-chaired by Clarissa and Edgar Bronfman, Jr. This year's featured speaker was South African Endeavor entrepreneur, Natalie Killassey of Stitch Wise. An Endeavor Entrepreneur since 2004, Natalie created a sewing company which produces leading-edge safety equipment and protective clothing for the mining industry. The Gala also included an impressive musical performance by Laura Izibor, named a Rolling Stone "Artist to Watch".  more... UNIVERSITIES HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP Universities also have a role to play in developing the role of entrepreneurship. The institutions provide thriving environments for business skill and technical expertise. So in essence this is a great opportunity to expose entrepreneurship at their disposal.  Professor Mthuli Ncube (dean of the faculty of commerce, law and management at Wits states that young people need to think of themselves as employers as oppose to employees.   The Global entrepreneurship week aimed to build a more open minded perspective in terms of business and the role of entrepreneurship. The events the university planned intended to promote small business developments and expose this to young people in society. Through collaboration with young educated beings a dynamic, growing community of entrepreneurship. ¼span style="padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 10pt; padding-bottom: 2px; color: #595959; padding-top: 0px; font-style: italic; font-family: georgia;">more...

On  November 5, Endeavor Global's annual Gala fundraiser brought together approximately 500 top executives from the Endeavor network and multiple industries for a dinner celebration. Endeavor raised over $1.8 million.

This year's honoree and 2009 Entrepreneur of the Year was Jonathan Nelson, CEO of Providence Equity- the world's leading private equity firm focused on media, entertainment, communications, and information investments. In addition to Jonathan and Judy Nelson, the event was co-chaired by Clarissa and Edgar Bronfman, Jr. This year's featured speaker was Natalie Killassey of Stitch Wise. An Endeavor Entrepreneur since 2004, Natalie created a sewing company which produces leading-edge safety equipment and protective clothing for the mining industry. The Gala also included an impressive musical performance by Laura Izibor, named a Rolling Stone "Artist to Watch.".  more...

START-UP HUNTING AT THE END OF THE EARTH

Journalist Sarah Lacy writes about Endeavor on TechCrunch... I'm sitting in Buenos Aires now, but last week I was in Puyuehue. Yeah, I had no clue where that was either when I got talked into embarking on a 20-something-hour day of travel to get there. If you look at a map of South America and trace your finger to the very bottom of Chile, that’s roughly where I was.   I sighed getting on the plane just four days after I got home from India. Having already traveled to Rwanda, Israel, China and India this year in search of the world’s best entrepreneurs, the journey was now quite literally taking me to the end of the earth. more...

URUGUAY'S GALA A BIG SUCCESS

Over 700 supporters attended Endeavor Uruguay's recent gala dinner, where the 100% Endeavor Entrepreneur Give-Back program was announced.  An international conference took place the following day, where over 1,000 attendees listened to panelists from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay.

In other country news, Gabriel T. Rozman, president of Endeavor Uruguay, was recognized as one of Latin America's 100 most powerful business people.  more...

ARGENTINA CONFERENCE:  HOW TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS

Recently Endeavor Cordoba held its 5th conference with the theme "How to achieve success in Argentina."Over 1,000 entrepreneurs and 30 speakers gathered in the auditorium of the City of the Arts Foundation, along with over 100 institutions including state agencies, universities, and other civil service organizations. The conference aimed to help foster an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Cordoba, and provided practical tools for training entrepreneurs.  more...

ENDEAVOR CEO, LINDA ROTTENBERG HONOURED BY DELL AND FORTUNE MAGAZINE

Linda Rottenberg was named one of Dell's "Inspiring Entrepreneurs" for their Take Your Own Path campaign which distinguishes entrepreneurs as heroes with the power to inspire. Linda received the honor along with LinkedIn CEO Reid Hoffman, Cakelove founder Warren Brown, and Sew What? President Megan Duckett. Separately, Linda was featured in the most recent issue of Fortune as a "Road Warrior".  more...

ENDEAVOR JORDAN LAUNCHES WITH INAUGURAL INTERNATIONAL SELECTION PANEL

From September 30th to October 2nd, Endeavor Jordan hosted their public launch and inaugural International Selection Panel (ISP) at the Dead Sea. Founding board members Ali al-Husry and Fadi Ghandour joined panelists Edgar Bronfman, Jr., Peter Kellner, Kevin Ryan, Joanna Rees, and Matt Brown to select seven out of twelve companies.

The companies include: 41?29!, a creative digital marketing company in Turkey; CADER, the Jordanian change agent for Arab development and education reform; and Pharmacy1, which is on course to be the leading pharmacy chain in the Middle East. Endeavor Jordan is especially appreciative of HM King Abdullah II for his patronage of our public launch, and HE Prime Minister Nader Al-Dahabi for attending.  more...

The Harvard Business school has opened their doors to the public. They have formulated a new initiative called Digital access to scholarship which is an online site that offers people a variety of information. Such as online articles that were written by students, lecturers, as well as the online library. Now people can read more and be informed.more...

View Endeavor South Africa's Enterprise Learning Circle series on YouTube.more...

To all entrepreneurs, we at Endeavor would like to thank you for believing in innovation and having the spirit of building better societies, communities and transforming the country.

Endeavor would also like to thank all the entrepreneurs who continuously donate to the Endeavor program. All your efforts will build a better tomorrow. Entrepreneurship needs people like you who believe and act towards cultivating a better community of leaders.

Till we meet again in 2010 may everyone have a pleasant festive season.  May we meet again in one mind and in one spirit of entrepreneurship.

Please note that Endeavor South Africa's offices will be officially closed 23 Dec - 6 January.

We would like to give a warm welcome to Tumi Sefolo who recently joined the Endeavor family. She has an incredible business background that will add great value to the search and selection team. Since Endeavor’s business philosophy is centered on the support and mentorship of highly innovative, business role models, Tumi’s outstanding business acumen and enthusiasm will be an asset to the Endeavor team, as she exercises her expertise in selecting the most distinctive, innovative business leaders who have astonishing ideas.

Nontokozo Hlangweni (aka Noni)has recently joined Endeavor. We are happy to have her as part of the Endeavour team. She will take on the role of a Junior Marketing Communications Administrator working with Megan de Villiers on raising the awareness of Endeavor and Endeavor entrepreneurs. She is passionate about people who are innovative and problem solvers and she believes she can add value to the Marketing and Communications function as well as in the business.