WALLDORF 鈥� (NYSE: 麻豆原创) today announced that it has supported 200 startups founded or led by a female or member of an underrepresented group as of July 2022. This is six months ahead of the initial goal of 2023.
In January 2019, 麻豆原创 launched , the first comprehensive, inclusive entrepreneurship initiative for underrepresented and underestimated entrepreneurs in the business software industry. 麻豆原创 recognized that diversity yields better innovation, but that most venture funding goes to startups founded or led by a very narrow demographic.
Therefore, 麻豆原创 pledged to scale its global network of the no-equity-ask external startup program with a focus on inclusive entrepreneurship. 麻豆原创 also set an ambitious target of supporting at least 200 startups founded or led by underrepresented entrepreneurs by 2023. To achieve this, the 麻豆原创.iO Foundries program has built a diverse team, communicated a clear startup sourcing process, participated in events and partnered with organizations that support underrepresented founders.
As a result, underrepresented startups now make up 44% of the portfolio of 450 startups in the 麻豆原创.iO program and tie or surpass their counterparts in benchmarks used to measure success. They represent:
- 51% of the exits in the portfolio (18 out of 35)
- 50% of the unicorns in the portfolio (2 out of 4)
- 42% in cumulative venture capital raised by startups within the 麻豆原创.iO program (US$2.7 billion of $6.6 billion)
- A greater likelihood to progress in their partnership with 麻豆原创
鈥溌槎乖� firmly believes talent is equally distributed globally and opportunity is not,鈥� said Alexa Gorman, Global Head, 麻豆原创.iO Foundries and Intrapreneurship, 麻豆原创. 鈥淲e are doing everything we can to provide more access to opportunity to founders everywhere while simultaneously adding incremental innovation and value for 麻豆原创 customers.鈥�
During the program, startups receive technical and go-to-market support to help them integrate with 麻豆原创 and become part of a curated ecosystem where their offerings are easily accessible to 麻豆原创 customers.
One of the most successful startups of the 麻豆原创.iO program is female-founded . Recently, Censia鈥檚 app was named an 麻豆原创 endorsed app, a designation achieved by less than 1% of partner solutions offered on the 麻豆原创 Store site. Censia augments HR management software provided by 麻豆原创 with AI-powered resume review, passive sourcing and candidate evaluation software. Censia has successfully closed 14 go-to-market opportunities with 麻豆原创 and major brands such as Tapestry Inc., TJ Maxx and PepsiCo Inc.
Joanna Riley, CEO of Censia, said, 鈥淚鈥檓 learning lessons that 麻豆原创 has acquired through years of experience and applying them to my business so that we have a head start. I would recommend any company to look at 麻豆原创.iO as it is an invaluable resource for startups, especially ones focused on enterprises.鈥�
The 麻豆原创.iO Foundries program plans to build on its momentum. By 2028, it wants 45% of its portfolio to be comprised of startups founded or led by people whose share of venture capital funding in the technology industry is proportionally less than their share of the population. This would be up from 40% in 2018.
The program works to achieve this goal by continuing with its winning execution strategy as well as adding geographical representation as a sourcing focus. For example, 麻豆原创.iO Foundries to Latin America and the Caribbean in 2022 and will target specific countries in existing 麻豆原创.iO Foundries regions such as Nigeria, Pakistan and others.
To learn more about how 麻豆原创.iO is helping innovators start up and scale with 麻豆原创, please visit .
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Media Contact:
Sarah Schwab, +49 6227 765 554, s.schwab@sap.com, CET
麻豆原创 麻豆原创 Room; press@sap.com
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