Client: Athar Accelerator

Funding Partner: Frankfurt School of Management

Programme Year: 2022

Participant Profile: Entrepreneur Support Organisation (ESO) staff setting up and running mentoring programmes

Course: Running Effective Mentoring Programmes (REMP)

Athar Accelerator is a startup accelerator based in Upper Egypt, working to unlock the potential of entrepreneurs in underserved regions. Although mentoring was central to their model, Athar faced persistent challenges with consistency, clarity and quality across mentoring relationships.

To address these gaps, Athar joined The Human Edge’s Running Effective Mentoring Programmes (REMP) course through the Frankfurt School of Management’s ESO 360 Programme. The course gave them a structured path to strengthen their mentoring offering and integrate it more deeply into their support model.

Challenges Before REMP

• Fragmented Communication A lack of shared understanding between mentors, mentees and staff caused confusion and weakened engagement.
• Undefined Processes Key stages like onboarding, matching and programme design were handled ad hoc, limiting consistency and effectiveness.
• Mentor-Mentee Mismatches Without preparation or clarity on roles, mismatches were frequent and limited the value of the relationships.

What Changed After REMP

• Structured Framework for Mentoring Athar now uses a clearly defined process for recruitment, onboarding, and matching—reducing errors and increasing programme effectiveness.
• Shared Language and Tools The team gained a common vocabulary and structure for mentoring, improving collaboration and alignment.
• Better Matching and Preparation New strategies for matching and clearer preparation helped reduce friction and improved relationship outcomes.

Impact

• Improved Mentor-Mentee Fit Entrepreneurs now benefit from more tailored support, with mentors equipped to offer relevant, timely guidance.
• Stronger ESO Capacity Athar’s team operates more confidently, with systems in place to support scaling and sustainable delivery.
• Support for 120+ Entrepreneurs Per Year The ripple effect has already been felt by more than 120 entrepreneurs annually, who now report clearer goals, better growth strategies, and increased confidence.

“We haven’t actually seen an organisation like yours dedicated to mentoring before. It’s as if the knowledge of mentoring is assumed to be innate or inherited. I haven’t seen any other programme addressing mentoring so specifically and deeply like REMP.”

— Mohamed Elberbawi, Participant