SA company to go global

24.01.2005
Von Theo Boshoff

Hi-Performance Learning (HPL) MD, Ryan Falkenberg, feels confident that his selection to take part in the global Endeavor Entrepreneurs program will launch the South Africa-based e-learning solutions company onto the world stage.

Falkenberg was one of eight SA entrepreneurs selected last December to take part in the program, which aims to help entrepreneurs in emerging markets to grow their businesses to a global scale.

?This is very exciting for me and for the company, as it will assist us to take the company to new heights, and afford us the opportunity to possibly service markets outside SA,? he says.

Falkenberg notes that, as part of the program, four MBA students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston are currently assisting the company to develop a strategy to market and service e-learning markets abroad. ?They are providing a lot of help,? he says.

Endeavor is a global nonprofit organization which identifies innovative emerging market entrepreneurs who have the ability to launch their initiatives globally. Each Endeavor Entrepreneur receives marketing assistance, an 18-month work plan and a link-up with local and international mentors to help develop effective business strategies for growth.

Falkenberg says that he now has the opportunity to network with high-standing and successful individuals from the Endeavor board, who will act as ongoing mentors, like Edgar Bronfman Jr. -- chairman and CEO of Warner Music Group, Michael Cline -- founding partner of Accretive Technology Partners, and Gary Mueller -- president and CEO of Internet Securities, from whom he can learn a lot.

?Endeavor will give me access to some of the greatest business minds in the world, and has given me the confidence to start dreaming again. With Endeavor?s support, HPL has the opportunity to become a global leader in the field of learning technology and design. The opportunity to work with Endeavor has been inspirational.?

The company is now able to take its learning technology and design, which it says has broken the traditional model of organizational learning, to other developing nations. Its Cuda learning software suite, for example, can be implemented across very narrow bandwidths, and is particularly appropriate for the developing world.

Says Falkenberg: ?Endeavor was particularly excited about our ability to lower the barriers to entry for e-learning in developing countries. Our learning technologies can deliver e-learning where there is outdated hardware and software, restricted bandwidths and unstable network connections. We are also able to design customized learning solutions that address specific performance challenges, at a cost that makes e-learning viable to the majority of organizations in Africa.?