You may think that your skills are not sufficient
to mentor someone else, or that your lack of mentoring experience
will be a barrier. However, as long as you have at least five
years of experience in a business environment, you should
be able to make a significant contribution. We can help you
to explore how your skills can be used to help others, and
we will also provide comprehensive training on how to be a
good mentor.
If you have experience of travelling, living
and/or working overseas, especially in developing countries,
of working with people from different backgrounds and countries,
or of providing consulting or mentoring support to others,
that will of course be helpful. But you do not need to have
experience in these areas to be a good mentor, especially
with the right preparation.
A great deal of the support that is needed
by Kenyan entrepreneurs is in generic areas that require little
more than common sense and a reasonable amount of work and
life experience to deal with effectively. Arguably, soft skills
are more important than business skills in fostering a successful
mentoring relationship. The qualities that we look for are
adaptability, intercultural sensitivity, good listening skills,
resourcefulness, a willingness to learn, and most importantly
an open mind and a good sense of humour!
A Skills Venture assignment is about a one-to-one
interaction with a business owner and/or entrepreneur. The
type of interaction can vary significantly from generic advice
to sector- and function-specific support. Which end of the
spectrum your assignment falls into is up to you – we
will work to what you feel most comfortable with. Read more
about the different types of support
that mentors can provide to entrepreneurs.
There is no lower or upper age limit. We also
operate a strict gender equality policy, and stress that Kenyan
businesses are very open to working with both male and female
mentors.
If you would like to find out more about how
you could put your skills to use, simply contact
us for a free, no-obligation conversation.
