Endeavor: High Impact Entrepreneurs

Since traveling to Zambia last October, I've spent a lot of time thinking about where I can make the greatest impact in the fight against global poverty.  I currently believe the best way I can invest my time is to help entrepreneurs in the developing world to create and grow successful businesses that generate wealth and jobs.  Non-profit Endeavor Global does a better job of finding and mentoring high impact entrepreneurs in the developing world than any other organization I'm aware of today.

I'm not in bad company in making this assertion.  Tom Friedman, in an updated version of his bestselling book The World Is Flat, boldly called Endeavor's model "the best anti-poverty program of all." And US News & World Report recently named Endeavor founder and CEO Linda Rottenberg one of America's Best Leaders.  Additionally, Endeavor has won Fast Company's Social Capitalist Award and Charity Navigator's 4-Star Ranking.

Below are a few additional bits of key information about Endeavor, as found on its website:

Mission Statement

Endeavor transforms the economies of emerging markets by identifying and supporting high-impact entrepreneurs.

Metrics

Financial Capital: 86,291 high value jobs created by Endeavor Entrepreneurs

Human Capital: 17,301 candidates received professional feedback from Endeavor

Social Capital: 4,247 weeks spent by MBAs and corporate fellows consulting Endeavor Entrepreneurs

Intellectual Capital: 708 patents or patents pending by Endeavor Entrepreneurs

Cultural Capital: 2.2 million people received entrepreneurial content from Endeavor

Locations

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, India, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey

I'm impressed enough with Endeavor that I recently volunteered to be a VentureCorp Mentor and am adding Endeavor to my list of favorite charities.  To be listed among my favorite charities, a non-profit has to earn a one-time donation of at least $500 from me, and I must be currently supporting the organization with either my time, money, or both.

10 Steps to Reach 3.8 Billion People

By learning the following widely spoken languages, one could theoretically communicate with 3.8 billion of the world's 6.7 billion people, or approximately 57%:

1) Mandarin - 1120 million speakers
2) English - 510
3) Hindi - 490
4) Spanish - 425
5) Arabic - 255
6) Russian - 254
7) Portuguese - 218
8) Bengali - 215
9) Malay - 175
10) French - 130

I, of course, already speak English. Additionally, I lived in Thailand for two years during the 1990s, but at 60 million speakers Thai did not make the top 10. At one time I would have considered myself to be fluent, though after more than a decade, I would consider myself to have intermediate Thai language skills. Additionally, I took some Mandarin Chinese during college, though I've never traveled to China and have forgotten much of what I learned in college.

With my new international marketing role at work, I am working to upgrade my language skills. I recently purchased self-study language programs for both Mandarin and Spanish and have enjoyed my early progress. Additionally, I support my company's marketing efforts in all of Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa, so Portuguese (Brazil and parts of Africa), Arabic (Middle East and parts of Africa), and French (parts of Africa) would all help me as I travel in my new role. I know I can't learn 5 new languages at once, but two at a time seems doable as long as only one of them is a European language. After I reach an intermediate level in both Mandarin and Spanish, I plan to add Portuguese and Arabic. I haven't yet set a goal to learn all 10 of the top languages, but it would sure be a good addition to a life list!