Leveraging the Power of Entrepreneurship to Change The World from The Bottom Up
In my time working with and witnessing entrepreneurs around the world, I’ve been fascinated by how universal the mindset of an entrepreneur is. No matter where they are in the world, they have more in common with each other than even with their fellow citizens. It matters not their background, culture, or socialization; they have the entrepreneurial mindset.
The entrepreneurial mindset is that of a problem solver. An entrepreneur is one who sees a problem and takes it upon themselves to create a solution. They are then not just business owners, but innovators and drivers of positive change. So, it stands to reason that if you want to bring positive change to society — if you want to create hope, optimism, jobs, growth and prosperity — you should aim to empower these types of high potentials and support them to become successful. What empowers them most is not money, but access to knowledge and international networks. This is what we realized working with them over many years.
Since 2013, enpact e.V. has been working with thousands of entrepreneurs in emerging economies. Its mission is to empower entrepreneurs to drive positive change, create innovative solutions and prosperity in their respective world regions.
From mentoring programs to delegation trips, accelerator programs and founder scholarships, we strive to create arenas that build networks of trust and exchange. Our programs are designed to put the people first. We focus not on developing only their business or their capital growth, but the person themself. In this way, even if the first venture does not succeed, the entrepreneur themself remains changed and remains a lifelong learner.
Many entrepreneurs in the regions we are active in are brilliant and motivated, but they are confined to their local communities and expertise. By creating programs embedded in their ecosystems, enpact gives them access to an international network of experienced mentors and experts. We aim to empower them in becoming successful.
As it often happens, you first begin by helping the individual entrepreneurs; then you begin to understand patterns and wonder how you can impact the environment to enhance the likelihood that other entrepreneurs will become successful. This is when we started to take a systematic approach and look into the framework conditions for entrepreneurship to flourish or hinder — what we call an entrepreneurial ecosystem.
enpact’s Data & Research team was founded to do just this: build an understanding of what makes a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem. The core of Data and Research’s offering is its ability to quantify the strengths and weaknesses of an entrepreneurial ecosystem and compare one to the other in spite of geographical differences. By understanding the ecosystem, down to specific indicators and policies that affect people in real-time, enpact can lend support to decision-makers at all levels: policymakers, businesses, individuals, and organizations. Most importantly, it can give recommendations and provide action-points for improvement.
The data can describe an ecosystem, but the Data and Research team also works to bring those data-points to life. In qualitative analysis, research, and storytelling, enpact works to build connections between regions, nations, and people. In sharing insights and highlighting change-makers, enpact works to share insights for learning and growth. This is why we have called our publication, “empower”. It is through bold and specific insights, stories, and perspectives that we can empower all of you to make a difference in your community.
