SAP Invests in Emerging Entrepreneurs to Drive Innovation, Job Creation and Economic Growth

WALLDORF, Germany and DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced an initial three-year, EUR 2 million commitment to Endeavor Global, Endeavor Brazil and India's National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN), organizations with a comprehensive focus on high-impact entrepreneurs. As part of a new emerging entrepreneurs initiative, SAP and its partners will help accelerate job creation and responsible and sustainable business growth for emerging entrepreneurs, who will be selected via the Endeavor and NEN networks. With an initial focus on Brazil and India, SAP and its partners plan to expand into additional emerging markets.

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"Today's entrepreneurs are the bedrock of tomorrow's economy," said Bill McDermott, co-CEO, SAP. "We believe in the 'Power of Small,' and the vital role that the private sector plays in helping small businesses and entrepreneurs. Technology has already helped them to become more resilient to market changes with innovative business models and efficient operations; it is at the heart and soul of their business. The task is now to identify and support small businesses leaders that have all the ingredients to execute their magic growth formula, accelerate innovation, and create jobs for the common good. With this initiative, SAP is making a clear commitment to invest in their long-term future by providing talent, technology and capital."

Selected companies will have a proven business model, a focus on innovation and societal impact and a propensity to scale using technology. Selected entrepreneurs will receive access to high-potential employee volunteers and mentors and technology support from SAP, as well as innovation grants from SAP Foundation, a corporate advised fund at Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Ultimately, the joint initiative will facilitate the growth and development of innovative companies that will help transform their communities.

Enabling New Job Creation
According to a recent Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) survey sponsored by SAP, the world needs to create more than 500 million new jobs by 2020 in order to provide career opportunities for the currently unemployed as well as young people who will join the workforce. The bulk of this challenge falls on countries in the developing world, including Brazil and India. Entrepreneurs are putting in place a variety of measures to help ensure they are well-positioned to exploit growth opportunities. At the top of the list is funding. Forty-one percent of small businesses are seeking new financing to take advantage of the opportunities available to them.

"As Endeavor enters its 15th year, we are proud to have selected and supported 700 entrepreneurs who have created over 200,000 jobs and generated 2011 revenues of over 5 billion dollars," said Linda Rottenberg, CEO, Endeavor. "We look forward to expanding on that record in additional countries and with the help of partners like SAP."

SAP recently created a dashboard for Endeavor that illustrates how Endeavor companies grow revenue and jobs 2.4 and 5.4 times faster respectively than comparable firms. Furthermore, Endeavor entrepreneurs typically pay their employees twice the average salary.

In particular, SAP and Endeavor Global plan to:

• Develop mentorship opportunities linking SAP employees to emerging entrepreneurs in over 15 emerging economies worldwide, including Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Greece and South Africa, focused on technology innovation, design thinking and business leadership engagements
• Drive technology innovation initiatives, including design thinking workshops and the development of an online entrepreneurship platform that tracks progress globally and allows for interaction among entrepreneurs across multiple geographies
• Participate in Endeavor's Investor Network, which provides introductions for qualified institutional and venture investors to successful emerging market companies

Expand Activities in Brazil and India
"There are 4 million registered companies in Brazil, of which 30,000 are high-growth and responsible for 57 percent of jobs in Brazil," said Juliano Seabra, managing director, Endeavor Brazil. "Today, Endeavor Brazil supports 57 companies in Brazil. The partnership with SAP will catalyze Endeavor Brazil's network of high-impact entrepreneurs by helping more high-growth companies access capital and mentors, creating a new generation of successful entrepreneurs."

SAP and Endeavor Brazil plan to:

• Select 50 emerging entrepreneurs who will receive a custom package of benefits, including access to Endeavor Brazil's planned online platform and skilled volunteering opportunities with SAP employees
• Select 20 emerging entrepreneurs from among the group of 50 who will receive an entrepreneur package from SAP with a growth grant, a technology evaluation and SAP exclusive mentorship
• Establish an online community that tracks and monitors the entrepreneurial environment in Brazil. In-depth pilots will be run with local stakeholders in specific cities in Brazil by Endeavor and Professor Daniel Isenberg, global Ecosystems expert, bringing together all key entrepreneurship stakeholders to create a joint action plan for a better entrepreneurial environment in selected cities. The first pilot will take place in January 2013 in Rio de Janeiro.

"High-potential entrepreneurs are critical for India to create the tens of millions of jobs it needs over the next decade," said K. Srikrishna, executive director, NEN India. "By investing in developing mentors and the entrepreneurial ecosystem, NEN and SAP will enable more entrepreneurs to grow and create the jobs India needs."

SAP and NEN plan to:

• Train 30 mentors across India who will support 300 emerging entrepreneurs in India
• Select 100 SAP experts who, through skilled-based volunteering assignments, will help emerging entrepreneurs with their specific technology requirements
• Select up to five emerging entrepreneurs who will receive a technology assessment, technology solutions and an innovation growth grant from SAP

For more information, visit the SAP Newsroom.

About Endeavor
Hailed by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman as "the best anti-poverty program of all," Endeavor is leading the global movement to catalyze long-term economic growth by selecting, mentoring, and accelerating the best high-impact entrepreneurs around the world. To date, Endeavor has screened more than 30,000 entrepreneurs and selected 726 individuals leading 455 high-impact companies.

With support from Endeavor's worldwide mentor network, these high-impact entrepreneurs:

• Have created over 200,000 jobs
• Generated over $5 billion in revenues in 2011
• Inspire future generations to innovate and take risks

Headquartered in New York City, Endeavor currently operates in 16 countries throughout Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Southeast Asia. As the high-impact movement expands globally, Endeavor will continue to prove that anyone with a big idea can succeed, from Silicon Valley to Latin America, the Middle East, and beyond.

About National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN)
National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) inspires, educates and supports high-potential entrepreneurs to create high-value jobs. NEN does this by building institutional capacity and a robust entrepreneurial eco-system. Today, it represents India's largest and most vibrant entrepreneurial community. The backbone of the NEN Community comprises of more than 550 member academic institutes with 1200 entrepreneurship faculty and 400 student E Cells; NEN E Clubs, driven by the NEN Alumni and open to the public. These bodies organize an astonishing breadth and depth of programs across the country that create and support entrepreneurs. In addition, the NEN members support each other individually to realize their entrepreneurial ambitions. For more information, visit www.nenonline.org

About SAP
As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 232,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

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