The Ghana Climate Innovation Centre (GCIC) and Mowgli Mentoring graduated 12 participants on 17th October 2018, from the GCIC Mowgli Mentoring program, at the GCIC centre based at Ashesi University. The graduation ceremony, celebrated the impact and successes of their pioneering 360-degree mentoring program, which focuses on the provision of both personal and professional guidance to support the mentee in moving forward. The graduation ceremony brought about the closure of the 6-month structured mentoring program and was graced by various dignitaries from the Denmark and Netherlands Embassies, a representative from Mowgli Mentoring, as well as key ecosystem partners.
The pilot mentoring program, which is an initiative of the World Bank Group and is sponsored by United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), kicked off in February 2018 with a Kickstart workshop which saw Mowgli Mentoring select and train 12 Ghana-based business professionals in the art and skill of 360-degree mentoring and match them with 12 selected GCIC incubated entrepreneurs for a process which saw the continuous capacity building of mentors and the setting of strong foundations for a quality mentoring relationship to develop. This mentoring program is one of Mowgli’s core programs which is in line with their European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) accredited mentoring syllabus.
Speaking on the investment in mentoring and the impact experienced over the past 6 months, GCIC’s Executive Director Rukayatu Sanusi stated that she was quite impressed with the impact the mentorship program had on GCIC entrepreneurs and stressed on the importance of mentorship in providing GCIC’s green entrepreneurs with a phenomenal holistic business incubation experience to buoy their lifetime entrepreneurial journey.
Over the past 10 years, Mowgli Mentoring has successfully built a case for 360-degree mentoring as a vital and cost effective tool of developing human capital within the entrepreneurship ecosystem, especially within incubators and accelerators who are often working with pre-breakthrough entrepreneurs.
Speaking on the partnership and need to incorporate mentoring within the ecosystem, in a speech read on her behalf, Mowgli’s CEO Kathleen Bury shared, “The impact of entrepreneurial mentoring is that it cultivates generations of strong leaders who go beyond building robust businesses, to shaping communities, societies and economies primarily through employment creation and retention. The Global Entrepreneurship Index places the Ghanaian entrepreneurial ecosystem at 7th position regionally, highlighting an ecosystem which is striving to provide the necessary support to entrepreneurs. For this to happen, the ecosystem needs to be well balanced with equal investment in providing the right environment, access to finance, infrastructure and human capital development opportunities. Mentoring supports the latter as it enhances the traditionally measurable capabilities (skills and knowledge) and ‘soft’ capacities (leadership, confidence, motivation, mindset and resilience) that entrepreneurs need to empower them to realise their potential, boost their productivity and achieve success. We are grateful to the World Bank, DfID and GCIC for their vision and belief to truly serve the entrepreneurs they are supporting through mentoring. It has been an inspiring journey witnessing the entrepreneurs and mentors growth over the past six months and we look forward to seeing each of them continue with their mentoring relationships and seize new opportunities for growth.”
The program which was established to strengthen GCIC’s current offering and share learnings on what it takes to run a successful and impactful mentoring program has showcased tremendous impact within the 6-month period. Collectively, the 12 mentors have volunteered an impressive 536 hours to mentoring, by far the highest value compared to other Mowgli programs, showcasing the commitment and rapid acceptance of the serve to lead mentoring philosophy within Ghana. Based on their average earnings, their contribution equates to a staggering benefit-in-kind monetary value of between USD13–15,000. This contribution pours into the impact and gains made by the entrepreneurs. At the 6-month mark, 100 percent of the mentored entrepreneurs admit to have found the program beneficial and already showcased an increase in confidence in the quality of their products and services. As a group, the entrepreneurs also collectively increased their operating efficiency, financial sustainability as well as their business turnover and profit.
While this graduation ceremony marks the end of the structured program facilitated by Mowgli Mentoring, it is not the end of the mentoring relationships. Mowgli will also continue to conduct monitoring and evaluation activities to further validate the impact within their three synergistic impact areas: personal growth and strengthening of leadership, which leads to business growth, sustainability and success, which ultimately leads to economic growth and employment generation.
