SAP donates R1 million towards Mandela Day

BUSINESS software company, SAP, said it donated R1-million towards the 7th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture this year, which was held on Sunday July at the Johannesburg City Hall.
“We are extremely proud of our partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation over the past six years,” says Pfungwa Serima, SAP Africa Managing Director. “Our involvement reflects our sustained contribution to the development of Africa.”
“It is part of the SAP’s philosophy to plough back into the communities in which we operate, and to be involved in such a high profile event adds credibility to our intentions, while helping to promote a greater sense of social justice across the globe. We also applaud the work that Prof Yunus
has done in Bangladesh in terms of extending credit to the disadvantaged to start their own small businesses. SAP supports the call to celebrate Mandela Day on July 18 through wide-spread positive action and we encourage everybody to make a contribution in the various communities.”
He said SAP identified the annual lecture as a key platform to demonstrate its long-term commitment to the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

The lecture was delivered by Professor Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Laureate who is the founder and managing director of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh.
The topic of discussion was “Investment in the marginalized as a way of creating wealth and combating poverty”, and was based on Prof. Yunus’ experience in this field, aptly captured in his book ‘ Banker to the Poor’.

Yunus captured the hearts and minds of the audience through his emotional references to the life of Nelson Mandela and the achievement of the impossible. He concluded by saying, “Let’s make South Africa the first county without poverty and let’s do it fast, let’s do it in the next 20
years.”