Over 790 entrepreneurs within Mena and the UK have participated in mentoring programmes of the Mowgli Foundation, a UK-based organisation in the region, to date and have on average created 3.3 new jobs each during their mentoring year, the company said in a report.

This led to over $18 million of economic growth (value of new jobs created and existing jobs safeguarded) within the region during their mentoring year and an average of 890 per cent Return on Mentoring Investment for the programme funders.

The impact report highlighted that over 80 per cent of mentored entrepreneurs were able to build up their confidence levels, 70 per cent gained a clearer direction for their business and 68 per cent addressed and working on overcoming their fear of failure and developed confidence in their decision making skills, resulting in 89 per cent of Mowgli Entrepreneur's businesses remaining operational and 90 per cent of the existing jobs being safeguarded after the mentoring year.  

Kathleen Bury, Mowgli CEO, said: "We have noticed that entrepreneurs in the Mena region face many interferences and obstacles when starting their own ventures. Our Impact report clearly shows that when those entrepreneurs are mentored, their potential of success and growth increases substantially leading the personal, business and most importantly economic growth."

"The evidence shows that mentoring is a proven and critical way to build up the entrepreneurs' capabilities and core spirit, which we define as confidence, resilience, motivation. Without building up these capabilities first, investing in entrepreneurs will not yield the desired return on investment that we are all seeking as it will not create an ideal environment for entrepreneurs to truly grow, spur economic growth and create jobs.

"The best way to empower entrepreneurs in the Mena region to drive economic growth, address unemployment challenges and alleviate poverty is to start at the foundation of what it takes to be an entrepreneur. This is where holistic mentoring comes in; by focusing on both the personal and then the business aspects of entrepreneurs' development, we will be creating a better-prepared and more capable entrepreneur that will grow to become a leader,” Bury concluded. – TradeArabia News Service