Mentoring has gained prominence in Western business education in recent decades. Yet it is not a new discovery; business people have long traded ideas and advice, practicing informal mentorship in the street and the study, the public square and public house. Identifying the importance of one-on-one consultation, recent mentoring services have organized a previously organic process. Even with plentiful approaches to private sector professional development available—life coaching, consulting, executive coaching, training programs—proponents of mentoring proclaim its ability to catalyze personal development and create institutional change. But can mentoring also create broad economic impact?
Yes, say organizations serving the social enterprise sector. One is Mowgli Mentoring, the UK-headquartered nonprofit that supports entrepreneurs creating future jobs in the emerging economies of the Middle East and North Africa, a region whose 27 percent youth unemployment rate leads the globe. In fact, the MENA region will require 50-80 million jobs over the next 10 years just to maintain current unemployment levels. In light of such a pressing need and ongoing regional challenges, is mentoring really an effective path to lasting change? Mowgli’s story provides answers—and better questions.
