Any guess what SAPers Monika Bloching, Olena Demeter, Judy Hoffman, Heike Kolar, Tijs Van Lier, Jan Seger, Michael Wachter, Andre Wagner and Evan Welsh have in common?
Let me give you a few hints:
• They are all currently on assignment in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
• They all have a passion for blending social impact with delivering business results to transform operations for clients.
• They call themselves The Belo Bunch.
• They are about to embark on a once in a lifetime experience.
They are the first pilot participants of SAP’s Social Sabbatical!
The SAP Social Sabbatical is an innovative learning opportunity for SAP high potential employees to contribute their time and talent to working with entrepreneurs and small businesses in emerging markets, a primary area of focus for SAP’s social investments.
The international, cross-functional teams bring their specific expertise – in areas such as strategy, marketing, IT, finance, consulting, development and legal – to non-profit organizations, government agencies and educational institutions to solve a pressing business or organizational challenge. The pilot phase begins in Brazil this week and is followed by assignments in India and South Africa in October.
Since being selected, The Belo Bunch has spent more than 300 hours virtually preparing for their assignment. Pre-work has included sessions about Brazil’s culture and business practices, consulting and primarily needs assessments with their clients.
Over the next month, The Belo Bunch will bring their business expertise to the client site, honing their leadership skills, deepening cultural knowledge, and connecting with other emerging leaders from around the world. Their projects range from the development of a supply chain strategy to promote and strengthen the local artisan sector, to a communications strategy for an association of thousands of catadores, local recyclable material collectors.
Join me in following the experiences of The Belo Bunch during their assignment. Follow Olena, Evan, Heike, Judy, Michael, Andre, Monika, Jan and Tijs on Twitter and check out blog posts regularly in SAP’s Community Network - Sustainability.
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