Better business with Endeavor South Africa: there’s strength in numbers for SMEs and start-ups

Discovery has partnered with Endeavor South Africa – a global, non-profit organisation that supports scale-up businesses and helps them to succeed both locally and abroad. Their research shows that businesses thrive when they get the right support at the right time. Yet, few companies know about or are able to access to this or similar support in South Africa, possibly contributing to high business failure rates.

The current landscape for entrepreneurs

It is not unusual for small businesses to fail within the first five years. This is largely owing to limited access to markets and funding, uncertainty about the future, lack of financial management skills as well as business interruption. However, SMEs have a crucial role to play in our economy and contribute to a significant proportion of GDP and employment.

With this landscape in mind, it is important for insurers and other stakeholders to take every opportunity to help SMEs prepare for the risks they may face on their business journey and improve their chances of success. In the broader scheme, helping SMEs survive and thrive also improves economic growth and employment in South Africa.

“Discovery Insure believes that we can play a fundamental role in this space,” says Anton Ossip, CEO of Discovery Insure.

To succeed in the current landscape, entrepreneurs need a comprehensive financial plan as well as mentorship and support from people with the right expertise. This includes expertise in the areas that typically challenge all businesses, such as financial management, growing revenue, attracting new clients, operational and talent management.

A new partnership is born

To this end, Discovery Insure has partnered with Endeavor South Africa to develop a solution that is suitable for businesses of all sizes. The partnership has led to the co-development of a business diagnostic tool, which can help entrepreneurs and management teams assess the health of their businesses.

Ossip says: “Endeavor aims to catalyse long-term economic growth by selecting, mentoring, and accelerating high-growth companies that are ready to scale locally and globally, and is also aligned with Discovery’s Shared-Value Insurance model.”

Why did Discovery partner with Endeavor?

“Discovery was founded in 1992 with the clear purpose of making people healthier and enhancing and protecting their lives, and has evolved into a sophisticated shared-value business that has expanded into life insurance, investments, and short-term insurance,” Ossip explains.

“The various applications of our model in 19 countries around the world have provided us with unique insights that we are now applying across the South African business environment.

“Our partnership with Endeavor South Africa gives us an opportunity to expand the shared-value model to business insurance. By helping businesses become more successful, we can also improve their risks. We believe that businesses that operate well, also manage their risks better and create value that can be shared to the benefit of society. Better businesses promote economic growth and higher employment.”

Who will benefit from this partnership?

“This partnership will benefit all companies and specifically those that are ready to scale their operations locally,” Ossip says. “The shared knowledge and expertise will help businesses gain insights on areas of development so that they can grow their business to reach its full potential. It will also benefit South African society as a whole through Discovery and Endeavor’s shared focus on building better businesses.”

“Discovery benefits in that we have clients who manage their risks better, which leads to our business having a better claims experience,” he adds. “This is true shared-value insurance.”

The value of a business ecosystem

The partnership between Discovery Business Insurance and Endeavor provides South African businesses with the necessary support to help them grow and draws on Endeavor’s expertise from having worked with many businesses in the past. For example, Endeavor has evaluated over 80 000 entrepreneurs worldwide, so they really understand the key drivers of business success. On average, Endeavor entrepreneurs achieve a compounded annual revenue growth rate of 35% over three years, compared with 14% for similar businesses (tracked by the World Bank). This shows that there really is strength in being part of a global support network like this one

Ossip concludes: “South Africa has an unemployment rate of 27% and even higher youth unemployment. Small and medium enterprises employ about 60% of the labour force. The prosperity of South Africa depends on unlocking this key sector, which is why we have committed ourselves to providing support to help businesses grow so that they can employ more people and contribute to the economic growth of South Africa.”