Case Study: givvable completes SAP’s accelerator program, SAP.iO Foundry

Supplier sustainability data platform givvable has integrated into SAP’s Data Warehouse Cloud Marketplace after completing the corporate’s accelerator program, SAP.iO Foundry.

Digital Nation Australia spoke to Frances Atkins, director and co-founder of givvable about how SAP’s accelerator helped the business to accelerate growth across new markets.

According to Atkins, givvable’s mission to help businesses translate their sustainability targets for procurement and sourcing was aligned to SAP’s recognition of the role of data in the shift to sustainable business.

“If a business has set a science based target, we help them to identify the suppliers in their supply chain who have also set science based targets or have credentials around climate action. For example, they may be climate neutral, certified, or climate positive. Or they’re taking actions to reduce their emissions year on year,” said Atkins.

“When you're talking about thousands of suppliers and you're talking about the breadth of sustainability targets, we knew that data was going to inform all of this.”

Atkins said that participating in SAP.iO Foundry has given the business credibility and opened givvable up to the SAP partner network.

“We've gone through a diligence exercise with SAP around what we do and the insights that we deliver. In a way it can fast-track a conversation with a customer,” said Atkins.

“Almost instantly for us, we have the opportunity to be able to deliver and reach customers, through the SAP ecosystem versus going directly.”

According to givvable co-founder and director Naomi Vowels, givvable is looking into other SAP integrations including with SAP profitability and performance management and with SAP’s sustainability control tower.

“The SAP.iO program was extremely well structured, we were pleased by the level of engagement that SAP provided. SAP executives took the time to sit with us and work out where our solution was most applicable and how customers can get the most value out of our data,” said Vowels.

For other start-ups considering participating in an accelerator program, Atkins cautioned the importance of understanding what you are seeking from the program, and the nature of your business, because a corporate accelerator is not for everybody.

“If, for example, you're looking at fundraising, then maybe you go into a VC accelerator, because at the end of the day, they're looking to get you funding to grow your idea,” she said.