The Mentoring
The mentoring support comprises of an intensive 3-day work shop, where the entrepreneur and mentor can learn, build relationships and share experiences before being matched in a partnership for a 12 month long programme of mutual growth and development. The time required from mentors and entrepreneurs during this period is only 3-4 hours a month, and is held at any mutually convenient time and place. Experience shows that this minimal commitment over 12 months is enough to support new entrepreneurs through accelerated growth.
Learn more about the Forsa Mentoring Programme: Video
In addition to the mentoring programme Forsa provides advice to national governments, regional and bilateral organizations, international financial institutions and other organizations involved in small and medium-sized enterprise development, on how mentoring programmes integrated into their domestic programmes.
Forsa are working with other national organisations in each of the Deauville Partnership’s transition countries, including the Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship (Jordan), Education for Employment (Egypt), Centre des Jeunes Dirigeants d’Entreprises (Morocco), Institut Arabe des Chefs d’Entreprises (Tunisia) and SMEPS (Yemen).
Outcomes
Forsa has:
- Supported and mentored over 250 entrepreneurs:
- of which 50% are women and 50% aged between 16-35 years of age
- 50% of entrepreneurs have seen sales increase by 23% adding $52 million to the businesses supported through the programme
- Development of a mentoring toolkit tailored for each transition country government
- Acknowledgement by six country ministries or relevant state bodies that mentoring has moved up the SME development policy agenda.
- Created over 2,800 jobs private sector jobs
The Forsa Introduction Flyer can be downloaded here.