Discovering the hidden beauty of Tunisia
SAP Social Sabbatical
A portfolio of global pro bono volunteering assignments where highly diverse teams of SAP employees provide their skills and business expertise to foster social impact by solving concrete challenges for non-profit organizations and social enterprises.
The Social Sabbatical (SoSa) which I’m fortunate enough to partake in is part of SAPs global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program — helping SAP impact 4.9m lives, contribute over 279,000 volunteer hours and support over 340 organisations since 2012. The CSR strategy helps ensure that SAPs efforts are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development goals, primarily focussing on “Building Digital Skills”, “Connecting Employees with Purpose” and “Accelerating non-profits & social enterprises to be best run”. The latter being the key element of the SoSa program design which was designed to achieve two equally important objectives:
· Solve concrete business challenges of non-profit organizations and social enterprises focused on bridging the digital divide in different markets across the globe, help them run at their best, and support them to maximize their social impact.
· Challenge and develop SAP leaders and talent to understand the global consequences of our rapidly digitized world, embrace the idea of life-long learning, and be role models for living our vision and purpose.
Working with PYXERA global — SAP’s CSR global partner, my process to get to Tunisia started 9 months prior to arrival for our cohort. Over the 2019–2020 intake to the program, 120 SAP Catalysts were given the opportunity (after a rigorous selection process) to support 10 emerging markets and support 40 carefully curated organisations. The SAP Catalyst Experience is for a select group of individuals who have been identified as having high capacity to ignite and drive the SAP business forward in the future, either as leaders or individual contributors within their domains.
“The Catalyst Experience connects these capable individuals with the strategic challenges SAP is facing.
It empowers each Catalyst to accelerate their development journey in their unique way, through self-awareness, experiences, and connections.”
My journey to Tunis started in the sunshine state of Queensland, Australia, and after a few delays for various reasons I arrived at my home for the next month in Tunis — 39 hours after locking my front door, knowing that it would be three months until I returned home. Being on the road for that amount of time made me think about the commitment I was about to undertake, the life-changing experience in front of me, and how I could ensure that I could be the best version of myself to ensure the host organisation, SAP and I all benefited. Within the program, this was referred to as the triple impact.
Our month together started with an Orientation day led by the Pyxera group and our SAP mentor (who had been on a SoSa in 2017). It was great to put faces to the names of those we had been on calls with over the last few months in preparation for our engagement — knowing we were going to be together as a collective for the next 29 days was an interesting topic of discussion, and the team building sessions were great. One of the team building activities was building Legos in an exercise called architects and engineers (check it out as an exercise). From my perspective it showed how that within 4 minutes of meetings, with a couple of minutes between each session, how difficult it could be to reach an outcome if we didn’t communicate clearly and play to each other’s strengths. The reflection time after was also interesting — seeing how each of us had a slightly different experience and lesson from the exercise. In my mind it was the perfect process to go through to crystalize all of the pre-work and prepare us for the four weeks ahead. Communication, as with most things, was the foundation to how successful our engagement would be.
Monday gave the group of catalysts to hear from the selected organisations, and for SAP to showcase the CSR program and how it was intended to impact the various ecosystems within Tunisia and the wider MENA region. The one thing that kept surfacing across all of the client organisations was the theme of opportunity. Creating opportunities for very diverse communities that exist across Tunisia; areas with poor infrastructure which means new businesses tend not to be established, limited access to high quality education which means that employers tend to select candidates from the highly populated areas such as Tunis, a general bias in hiring males rather than females, as well as the political and economic hangover from the revolution of 2011.
Hearing all of these challenges could have been demoralising — if it wasn’t for the activities for the various clients, partners within the ecosystem and individuals that are truly acting as catalysts for the country. Everyone is motivated and inspired to make a difference, being an activist for change and are determined to succeed. The indicators for change are there, with new legislations being introduced to support start-ups, digital economies and to enable creativity and innovation, organisations are focussing on empowering and improving the ecosystem rather than the company’s bottom line — as they are all aware that the collective success will be more impactful than a single individual success story.
The organisation I am consulting with is a global accelerator network, who connect Tunisian entrepreneurs to the ecosystem to accelerate the growth of start-ups. The services on offer include seed funding, mentorship and coaching, education and information sessions focussing on all of the topics needed to be successful — from marketing, to cyber security, and from business modelling to how to successfully pitch for further investments. The start-up teams are all co-located in downtown Tunis, in a building which has been renovated by the organisations involved. It’s just a small example of their commitment to really improve the country — one building at a time, one company, or individual at a time. Everything from the building number to the way the organisations are co-located tells a story.
It’s located centrally in Tunis, proudly displaying #15. The Tunisian revolution happened on a 14th, and the number 15 represents the fresh start, a place where companies can grow from. The building is structured in a way which explains the journey of a start-up, with coffee on the ground floor next to a creative space surrounded by exhibitions of local artists. On level one there is an education institute. The second floor is where the accelerator organisation is based, with the investment funds on the third floor. The next floors are held by an organisation who are invested in long-term, local and regional developments and corporate social responsibilities. The roof top is a shared space with expansive views over the city, used for lunches, functions and a different workspace for those needing some more inspiration.
Our first week was focussed on listening to the stakeholders the company supports — current start-up organisations, alumni, eco-system contributors, investors and those employed by the company. This was such a rewarding process personally, leveraging my experience to extract the real why behind the answers, which would help the organisation themselves to accelerate. It was incredible how quickly the SAP team came together, within a day we were operating like a team who had been working together for much longer than the 48 hours since we first met. Realising that our skill sets and approaches could combine to make a significant impact very quickly — and by the end of our first week we had a clear set of objectives which would help the organisation in the short, mid and long term.
The week has been inspiring and is living up to the expectations promised when applying — that this program will be life changing if you fully embrace the experience. The culture, the passion, peoples’ willingness to share and learn was clear — and our opportunity to make a significant impact was clear.
Exploring the city of Tunis, it was clear to spot the historical influences, in the architecture and the cuisines. Hidden within the old part of the city, the Medina, were numerous secrets, and an analogy of the country itself. At first glance, the buildings look old, tired and like they are being left to crumble into the pages of a history book. Yet hidden behind some of the beautifully crafted doors, showing traditional craftsmanship, are some of the most beautiful palaces and restaurants I’ve ever seen. One place we were fortunate enough to enjoy dinner at had been painstakingly restored by a family over the space of a decade — hidden from those who walked past the door into the Medina.
Whilst my initial view from the pre-work and our kick-off session painted a picture of an under resourced country recovering from political and economic challenges, I can now see there is so much potential for the country to shine. Whilst our work isn’t going to change the country overnight, it will hopefully be a small step for the organisation, and those it inspires and supports, to help improve people’s lives and help the world run better.
