SAP AG today announced a three-year commitment to National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN), India’s largest entrepreneurial organization with a comprehensive focus on high-impact entrepreneurs, to create a strong mentoring ecosystem in order to accelerate job creation and responsible, sustainable business growth for entrepreneurs in India.
“Today’s entrepreneurs are the bedrock of tomorrow’s economy,” said Bill McDermott, co-CEO, SAP. “We believe in the ‘Power of Small,’ and that the private sector plays a vital role in helping small businesses and entrepreneurs drive innovation, job creation and wealth. We recognize
that helping entrepreneurs and small businesses achieve their full potential is not something that can be achieved in a 90-day cycle. With this initiative, SAP is making a clear commitment to invest in their long-term future by providing talent, technology and capital.”
Emerging entrepreneurs play a vital role in driving economic growth and addressing societal needs while building successful ventures that create new jobs, but require capital, technology, mentorship or other resources to succeed.
Mentoring being one of the most critical gaps in the evolving Indian entrepreneurial eco-system, SAP and NEN will together build mentoring capacity in India over the next three years by identifying, educating and supporting high-quality mentors. This program, a part of SAP’s new
Emerging Entrepreneur initiative, will provide high leverage for SAP and industry mentors to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses.
SAP and NEN will select entrepreneurs and their companies that have a proven business model, a focus on innovation and societal impact, and a propensity to scale with technology. These selected entrepreneurs will receive access to high-potential employee volunteers and mentors as
well as innovation grants and technology support from SAP. Ultimately, SAP and NEN will facilitate the growth and development of innovative companies that will help transform their communities through job creation leading to economic acceleration.
“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, National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) India. NEN’s mission to create and support such entrepreneurs is significantly strengthened by partnering with a global leader and innovator such as SAP. 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 five emerging entrepreneurs who will receive a technology assessment, technology solutions and an innovation growth grant from SAP.