Become a mentor
Become a mentor and be part of a woman entrepreneur’s business success story.
Our flagship Mentoring Women in Business programme matches women entrepreneurs in low and middle-income countries with experienced, dedicated businesspeople in any country. In pairs, they work together for 12 months, with the mentor helping the mentee to achieve her business goals, as well as build her wealth, independence, and financial security.
Becoming a mentor offers business professionals the chance to play a pivotal role in an entrepreneur’s business growth at a critical stage of her business.
You could find yourself working with a shoe designer from Vietnam, a shop owner from Pakistan, a wine producer from South Africa or a travel agency owner from Kenya.
By sharing your business knowledge with a woman entrepreneur, you’ll support her to boost her confidence, improve her business performance, develop and add to her skills, and have a significant impact on her life, family, community and beyond.
We welcome mentors from many different backgrounds and value every prospective mentor’s interest. You can read all about the programme here.
Applications are open now! If you’re interested in this life-changing opportunity, we encourage you to read the guidelines below and complete the online application form by 19 April.
Of our 2023 graduating mentors...
94% gained skills
94% were either satisfied or very satisfied with their mentoring relationship
87% gained knowledge of a new culture
Through collaborating with a mentor, we see women entrepreneurs regularly:
- Increase the revenue and profits of their businesses
- Create jobs and opportunities in their communities
- Become pioneering leaders, change-makers and role models
This enjoyable, engaging process has rich benefits for mentors, enabling you to:
- Develop and deepen your leadership, active listening, and communication skills
- Learn about different cultures, professional backgrounds, sectors or industries
- Create impact by empowering and releasing the potential of women entrepreneurs
- Contribute to rebuilding economies post-COVID-19
- Understand the challenges that women entrepreneurs in low and middle-income countries face
- Inspire and motivate others, playing a crucial and lasting role in the development of a business
Participants who successfully complete the programme also receive a certificate from Cherie Blair CBE KC, access to useful resources, our online community, and more.
Mentors must be…
- A business professional, of any gender, with at least 7 years’ experience in business
- Either a member of one of our corporate partners’ workforce or able to self-fund to participate independently
- Fluent in English
- Able to commit to the programme for twelve months
- Willing and able to share their expertise and experiences with a woman entrepreneur to launch, develop or grow her business
Mentors are expected to…
- Meet online with their mentee for two hours minimum per month, for a year
- Undergo around 1.5 hours of pre-matching training
- Complete interim and end-of-programme surveys
- Adhere to our Mentoring Women in Business programme Code of Conduct
- Make a donation of £1,100 to cover the cost of their participation and that of their mentee – unless they are part of a partner company’s workforce, or are a Cherie Blair Foundation for Women alumna who is applying through our scholarship fund
By enabling our Mentoring programme to run successfully, your generous gift of time and funds will contribute to a global wave of women’s economic empowerment.
There are three ways to join the programme as a mentor:
- As a member of the workforce of one of our corporate partners
- As an independent mentor self-funding their own and their mentee’s participation
- As a scholarship mentor: woman entrepreneurs who are alumni of our programmes can apply for a scholarship to have their place match-funded
If you meet the selection criteria and are not applying within our application window, please fill out the form below to express your interest in becoming a mentor, and we will be back in touch when we are next accepting application to join the programme to ask you to apply.
Once our application window is open, the next step is to complete the online application form, which takes around 20 minutes.
During our application window, we aim to process and respond back to applications within seven working days.
If you have any technical issues, get in touch with us.
Download and read the following before applying:
Mentoring is an important, enriching experience for both you and your mentee, but also a valuable donation of your time and money. We ask independent mentors to fund their ‘match’—both their own participation and that of their mentees—for a cost of £1,100. This covers:
- Dedicated one-to-one relationship support from our team
- Development of training resources and learning content
- Running our sector-leading online mentoring platform and app
You can do this out of your own pocket, by fundraising for your place, or by asking your company to make a donation to cover your participation.
Your generous gift of support, time and funds will contribute to a global wave of women’s economic empowerment.
My mentee was an inspiration to me. Even though I was the mentor, I learned so much from her resilience and courage to keep her business going during the pandemic.
What's it like to be a mentor?
Listen to our Mentoring team's Jetske van Dijk chatting to mentor Tim Allitt, Issuance Product Manager at PayPal, for a good overview of Tim's experiences of the programme, why it's such a valuable opportunity for mentors and their companies, and how a mentoring relationship might play out!
Read about the experiences of former mentors and mentees:
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Yolanda and Ivette’s story: working together for mutual benefits
Yolanda Odida is the founder of Pure Purple in Nairobi, Kenya. She was matched with her mentor, DHL's Ivette Townshend, for a year of collaboration.
Read more
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Esther & Jennifer’s story: a recipe for mentoring success
Esther Gathage is the owner of Herstee's Bespoke Cakes. She was matched with her mentor, DHL's Jennifer Thompson, for a year of collaboration.
Read more
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Queen’s story: STEM is what changes the world
Queen Mokulubete shares her mentoring journey.
Read more
