According to the 2020 Global Education Monitoring Report published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), more than a quarter of a billion children, adolescents, and young people have no access to education systems around the world. Additionally, it has been revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation.

Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, said in the report:

“Rethinking the future of education is all the more important following the COVID-19 pandemic, which further widened and put a spotlight on inequalities. Failure to act will hinder the progress of societies.”

In the Philippines, the current crisis adversely affected over 27 million learners, many of whom live in areas with minimal access to technology and poor connectivity. SAP continues to make efforts to tackle this problem by partnering with non-profit organisations to ensure learning continuity amidst the pandemic.

By collaborating with makesense Philippines in September 2020, the market leader in enterprise application software contributed to the rapid scaling of volunteer recruitment for education through the Re_action program — a COVID-19 response initiative aimed at supporting the most vulnerable Filipinos during the crisis.

Pepper Limpoco, the Asia Head of Community of makesense, commented on the donation made by SAP. She remarked:

“Through this support, we will be able to significantly aid public school students and students with special needs alike who are struggling heavily with access to equipment, platforms, and learning materials. SAP shows, yet again, their incredible commitment to positive social impact.”

SAP Philippines’ Contribution in Supporting Children’s Education

Fast forward to April 2021, SAP has once again shown its dedication to addressing today’s pressing concerns in the education sector. In celebration of its 25th anniversary in the Philippines, the tech giant has provided a US$25,000 grant to support the Batang Bayani Life Skills Program of Teach for the Philippines (TFP).

Edler Panlilio, Managing Director of SAP Philippines, said:

“SAP has always been dedicated to helping the world run better. We see it as our duty to go beyond boundaries to help create a better world and a brighter future. We will remain committed not only to helping businesses transform into intelligent enterprises with solutions like Rise with SAP but also to support programs that will shape tomorrow’s leaders.”

TFP’s Batang Bayani Life Skills Program will be boosted with SAP’s donation aimed at strengthening the training programs for around 100 educators which include parents, guardians, and co-teachers. As an organisation working to ensure that all Filipino children get access to inclusive education, TFP’s program builds students’ capabilities and parents’ capacities to support the education of their children.

Clarissa Delgado, CEO of Teach for the Philippines, stated that this partnership with SAP enables their organisation to extend the program to both public school students and their parents.

“Amid the ever-changing education context both locally and globally, we are grateful to be working alongside a strong champion of education like SAP Philippines. SAP Philippines trusts not just in the work that Teach for the Philippines does but also believes in the potential of Filipino public school students to shape our country’s future,” Delgado further said.

Moreover, the SAP University Alliances program — which has 15 member universities in the Philippines — continues to empower faculty and teachers to better equip the next generation of talents with the latest SAP technologies and relevant skills.

The post SAP Philippines Invests in Education for the Youth appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

SAP Philippines celebrated its 25th anniversary, providing solutions and services not only to conglomerates but as well as to small and medium-sized businesses in the country across many industry verticals such as real estate, banking, energy, and IT.

Edler Panlilio, Managing Director of SAP Philippines since 2017 said:

“As we celebrate our 25th year in the Philippines, we are all proud that many companies and institutions run better with SAP. We remain committed to our purpose of helping Filipino companies of all sizes to become intelligent enterprises and improve the lives of Filipinos through technology.”

For over two decades now, local and multinational companies leverage SAP’s end-to-end business solutions in streamlining their complex daily operations while increasing productivity and staying competitive in their respective markets. SAP continues to strengthen its presence in the Philippines since its operation in 1995, growing its number of employees from 10 to 2,000 now across four offices around the country.

SAP Philippines has received the 2020 Top Employer from Top Employers Institute for empowering best people practices and having exceptional employee working conditions. SAP Philippines has received this distinction for three consecutive years.

Delivering SAP’s Mission

Despite COVID-19’s global disruption, SAP in the Philippines continues to deliver SAP’s mission to help the world run better and improve people’s lives. The technology advocates technology innovation both for businesses and for the youth of the country.

SAP for SMEs

For the SME-dominated Philippines, MD Panlilio has been encouraging businesses to leverage SAP Business One and SAP Business ByDesign as they navigate the road to becoming an intelligent enterprise even in this unpredictable environment. The nation’s economic recovery post-pandemic lies in the ability of the SME ecosystem to thrive by leveraging technology since the sector is responsible for 2.5 million-job creations in the country. 

“These quarantine guidelines demonstrated how technology continues to play an important role in supporting business continuity. Organisations now rely more on digital tools and platforms to move labor-oriented practices into more automated and technology-oriented processes,” Panlilio said earlier in June.

SAP and the Filipino Youth

Recognising the youth’s creativity and innovativeness in addressing today’s pressing concerns, SAP has created programs such as SAP University Alliances. It is a global program that enables faculty and teachers at educational institutions and partners around the world to educate next-generation talents with SAP skills for the intelligent enterprise and the experience economy, engage with SAP events, build industry partnerships, launch graduates in the SAP ecosystem, and inspire young thinkers.

In the Philippines, there 15 universities enrolled in the program including De La Salle University-Dasmarñas, which has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation and SAP University Alliances earlier this year.

In partnership with the ASEAN Foundation, SAP supports ASEAN Data Science Explorers, another program designed to explore the youth’s potential in creating a positive social impact in Southeast Asia through technology. The recently concluded ASEAN DSE 2020 National Finals awarded two college students from Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology to compete at the regional level to be held in November.

“SAP’s enduring purpose is to help the world run better and improve people’s lives. Over the last 25 years, our Filipino colleagues have grown our business and operational footprint significantly in the Philippines. As we look into the next 25 years, innovation and ecosystem is going to help accelerate our efforts to achieve a Digital Philippines and drive our next wave of growth,” said Verena Siow, President & Managing Director of SAP South East Asia.

The post Celebrating 25 years of SAP in the Philippines appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.