Accenture Foundations Give US$1.5 million to help Enablis Bolster Entrepreneurship in Africa

Accenture Foundations Give US$1.5 million to help Enablis Bolster Entrepreneurship in Africa

Accenture(a) (NYSE: ACN) and the Enablis Entrepreneurial Network today announced a US$1.5 million grant from the Accenture Foundations. The grant will support Enablis’ efforts to help entrepreneurs in Africa build and scale strong, sustainable businesses – ultimately, extending the organization’s initial success in South Africa to countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

In addition to the grant from the Accenture Foundations, Accenture will continue to provide Enablis with consulting services, as it has done since the organization’s inception. These have ranged from advisory services, including developing Enablis’ business strategy, to hands-on support for the pilot launch and rollout. Most recently, the company developed the framework, feasibility study and action plan for Enablis’ expansion into sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, Accenture Development Partnerships, a not-for-profit group dedicated to providing support to the international development community, developed Enablis’ business plan for East Africa.

Enablis, a not-for-profit, public-private partnership, operates at the grass-roots level and is dedicated to delivering to its member entrepreneurs all the networking, learning, mentoring and coaching that are relevant to them and will contribute to their sustainability. Developed from a concept generated through the G8’s Digital Opportunities Task Force, the organization also provides its 300+ members with finance, to help ensure success. This is particularly important for businesses that fall between the thresholds for micro-credit and venture capital.

An independent survey of Enablis members, released in January 2007, found that for each entrepreneur assisted by the organization, four new jobs on average have been created in industries that include IT telecom, tourism, services, agri-business and transportation, among others.

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