International Women’s Day offers an opportunity to recognize the achievements of women worldwide, reflect on their historical contributions, and share inspiring stories of strength and resilience.
There is as much to celebrate today as there is from our shared past. Women’s entrepreneurship is growing, with 38 percent of micro, small, and midsize enterprises being women-owned and 10 million women-owned businesses operating in developing countries.
One of SAP’s industry-leading, strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) focus areas is powering equitable access to economic opportunity and employment, in alignment with our vision of helping the world run better and improving people’s lives.
Through our immersive and virtual pro bono consulting programs, SAP employees collaborate with hundreds of impact-driven businesses that are putting people and planet first. Many of these businesses are inspiring women-founded and led enterprises that create long-term, sustainable impact for their communities by directly empowering economic opportunities and employment for many. This has a ripple effect, as it not only directly benefits the impact business or individuals, but it also can lead to poverty alleviation, higher income potential, and stable living environments for those individuals, their families, and the communities they live in and contribute back to.
By sharing their experience and expertise with these impact businesses, our employees can deliver on the promise of our CSR strategy while growing in their leadership competencies and driving positive change for future generations.
SAP Social Sabbatical is one of our flagship pro bono consulting programs that enables employees to share their knowledge and skills with impact businesses across the globe. Created in partnership with our long-time strategic partner Pyxera Global, employees are placed on highly diverse teams and dedicate their professional expertise during a unique, immersive one-month assignment solving concrete strategic challenges for client organizations.
In 2023, one of the program’s assignments was in Jakarta, Indonesia, and partnered with an impact business called TORAJAMELO. TORAJAMELO is a slow fashion brand addressing the issue of migration from rural communities, particularly for women, and supporting job creation in these communities. They focus on reviving rural economies with sustainable weaving, creating an ecosystem for more than 1,200 women weavers that improves their ability to self-support through financial stability and connect back to their culture, while also promoting sustainable fashion.
In partnership with TORAJAMELO, the SAP team drove research and development of a lifestyle rating system for their online fashion cooperative, with recommendations for brand recognition and a dedicated sales channel for artisanal products. Their work supported TORAJAMELO’s long-term social and environmental impact for their customers and beneficiaries, and greatly impacted the employee consultants themselves, personally and professionally.
For SAP participant Bibiana Becker, the sabbatical reinforced many of her existing worldviews: “The world is interconnected, and we need to help each other and provide those who lack it with access to education and sustainability knowledge. The women who lead TORAJAMELO are strong, resilient, and hard-working. TORAJAMELO is saving lives.”
One of these women, TORAJAMELO CEO Aparna Bhatnagar Saxena, shares why doing work that directly impacts the lives of women is so meaningful.
“I am able to work directly on the economic enablement of women, minimizing negative damage on the environment and focusing on revamping our education systems,” she said. “I am a firm believer for a fairer and more prosperous world. Women belong in all decision-making areas of work and life, and all they need is exposure and a platform to develop their skills and capture the opportunities.”
When asked if there were any unexpected benefits of working with her SAP pro bono team, Aparna shared, “We found champions who cared about what we are doing.”
The opportunity to work with TORAJAMELO opened a wider worldly perspective for the SAP team. Sergio Pascual Logarzo noted how his experience working with them personally and professionally impacted him.
“Their dedication and commitment to advancing this cause has been a source of daily inspiration,” he confirmed. “By working with people of different backgrounds, both SAP colleagues and external stakeholders, I gained a new perspective on cultural and social dynamics, learning to see solutions from a more inclusive angle.”
Another incredible women-led organization that SAP pro bono consultants partnered with last year, among others, was the host organization, Maide Mutfak, in Istanbul, Turkey. Maide is a kitchen incubator that provides both access to production facilities and business consulting, and catering services that emphasize sustainability and inclusivity. The organization empowers local food entrepreneurs and reduces their costs while providing employment and development opportunities to nearby disadvantaged communities, including many women facing socio-economic challenges.
The SAP team built a strategic business plan for Maide, including a powerful messaging framework and business development road maps.
Reflecting on her experience working alongside Maide and the new skills she now brings to her daily work, SAP participant Charmel Bence shared, “Our host client was very welcoming and appreciated every effort we made to understand their business and their challenges. It was very humbling to get to know them and witness their passion, commitment, and perseverance to succeed. Working with Maide has affirmed the need to first seek to understand. Take time to actively listen and walk in their shoes.”
Pro bono consulting at SAP is truly an innovation exchange, with the impact businesses adopting new ways of tackling their challenges as they scale and make an even greater impact, and SAP employees being exposed to sustainable business models and bringing new or expanded ways of thinking to their teams at SAP.
“This experience deeply reinforced my belief in the importance of equitable inclusion while expanding my understanding of the challenges faced by under-resourced food entrepreneurs,” shared SAP participant Danielle Zhang. “Seeing firsthand the systemic barriers they encounter — whether access to funding, industry knowledge, or market opportunities — has made me even more aware of the critical role we play in leveling the playing field. True inclusion isn’t just about providing resources, it’s about creating an ecosystem of support, mentorship, and community that empowers diverse entrepreneurs to thrive.”
Collaboration with impact businesses, including those that are women-founded and led, and those that directly support women through pro bono consulting underscores the power of the collective, and the multiplier effect of impact. Working together, corporations and impact businesses are both made stronger through the reciprocal sharing of skills and talents and the shared safety to step outside of comfort zones and gain new perspectives.
With over 11 million impact businesses operating worldwide, this exchange brings business value back to SAP and scales the important work of these organizations, driving further economic and employment opportunity out to the communities they serve.
As we celebrate International Women’s Day, the experiences from employees and the inspirational host clients they worked with are a reminder of the extraordinary achievements of women worldwide and the importance of continued efforts to empower their endeavors. These initiatives represent another undeniable way that SAP is helping the world run better and improving people’s lives, one community at a time.
Julia Donovan is program manager of SAP Social Sabbatical for SAP CSR at SAP.
