Getting behind New Zealand’s social entrepreneurs, SAP will provide financial and advisory support to Ākina Foundation, a leading charity dedicated to growing social enterprises across New Zealand.
The Ākina Foundation has supported over 600 social enterprises, and was the 2015 winner of the NZI Sustainable Business Network Business Award for Community Innovation.
Through the strategic partnership, SAP and Ākina hope to grow the sector by developing new market and investment opportunities for social enterprises.
SAP will provide NZ$50,000 annually for Ākina to distribute across its core programmes to support social entrepreneurs and enterprises at all stages of their development, including the innovation process, skills and leadership development, start-up acceleration, impact modelling, growth services and investment readiness.
SAP will also act as a key adviser in the identification and implementation of a digital learning management system design to support Ākina in scaling its reach and enable social entrepreneurs to develop their expertise and knowledge base.
“This is a sophisticated partnership that will provide critical funding to support social entrepreneurs and also much more,” said Alex Hannant, CEO of Ākina Foundation. “Through Ākina, SAP will be able to provide targeted business mentoring and technology assistance to make a real difference to start-ups grappling with multiple development challenges.
“By supporting high-potential social enterprises, SAP can help create a pipeline of innovative ventures that will be committed to delivering community impact for the long haul. I think it will also provide provocation and inspiration to their own business and people,” Hannant said.
SAP staff have already begun mentoring social enterprises such as Ora Safety and Health. Its team is currently developing a tool for people who work on safety-sensitive worksites to help ensure they are safe to work, testing individuals for impairment through fatigue, stress, illness or alcohol consumption.
“Having an SAP staffer on board helped us think strategically and flesh out our approach to enterprise level development,” said Jackson Wood, CEO of Ora Safety and Health.
“The line between business outcomes and social outcomes is blurring,” said Graeme Riley, managing director, SAP New Zealand.
“Today, social impact and commercial success go hand in hand as more organisations align their business models toward a greater good. New Zealand’s work in this blended space is accelerating, with both established organisations and start-ups taking on social challenges and delivering successful businesses. SAP is thrilled to partner with a charity of such calibre as Ākina to help social entrepreneurs scale their impact in New Zealand and internationally.”
