Pathway · Start & grow
Mentors
Experienced founders, professionals and SIA alumni mentor participants at every stage of the Pathway. Become a mentor, or find one.
Mentoring runs through every stage of the SIA Pathway. In Incubate, every venture has mentors during its 100-day sprint. In Accelerate, mentors help founders reach new markets and get ready for investment. And in Alumni for Life, graduates become mentors themselves.
A mentor is not a teacher or an investor. A mentor is someone who has faced the same problems, listens, asks good questions, and opens a door when they can.
Become a mentor
A few hours a month, in person or online. CONFIRM: the time commitment, and whether mentoring can be online.
Thank you. Someone from the team will be in touch. Your reference is {ref}.Create a free My SIA account to keep everything you do with SIA in one place.
Two ways in
Give help, or get it
Become a mentor
- You have built a business, or worked in a field founders need: finance, marketing, law, technology, exports
- You can give a few hours a month, in person or online
- You speak Urdu or English, and Balochi or Pashto if you can
- You are patient, honest and you keep what founders tell you private
CONFIRM: the time commitment and how long a mentoring match lasts.
Find a mentor
- Join a programme on the Pathway: mentoring is part of Incubate and Accelerate
- Already graduated? Mentoring continues through Alumni for Life
- Tell the team what you need help with, and they will look for the right person
Start with the stage that fits you. Find your stage
Where mentors are needed
The four sector tracks, and more
SIA’s incubation runs in four sector tracks. Mentors with experience in them, or in the skills every founder needs, are especially welcome.
- Women-led enterprise
- Agribusiness and climate
- Crafts and the creative economy
- Education and health
- Finance, accounts and investment readiness
- Selling online and exporting to the Gulf
How it works
From interest to your first meeting
CONFIRM: the steps SIA uses to vet and match mentors.
- 1Register interestTell us your experience
- 2ConversationA short call with the team
- 3SafeguardingSIA’s policy (CONFIRM)
- 4MatchingWe introduce you to a founder
- 5MentoringMeet regularly, in person or online
Many SIA participants are young people and women in their first business. CONFIRM: every mentor reads and accepts SIA’s safeguarding policy before they are matched. Read the safeguarding policy
FAQ
Questions about mentoring
Is mentoring paid?
CONFIRM: whether mentors are volunteers or paid.
Can I mentor online from abroad?
CONFIRM: whether remote mentoring is offered. Many founders welcome advice from the diaspora, especially about selling in the Gulf.
How are mentors and founders matched?
The team matches by sector, skills, language and what the founder needs most. CONFIRM: details of the matching process.
I am a founder. Can I choose my mentor?
Tell the team what you need. They will suggest someone, and you can ask for a different match if it does not work.
Mentor with SIA
Ask for a mentor account. Once the team approves it, you see your mentees, log your sessions and follow the facilitator track.
- Your mentees and a log of your sessions
- Your facilitator track and certificate
- A profile on the Mentors page, if you choose
Free. The SIA team checks each request and emails you when your area opens.
Mentors
Meet SIA mentors
Mentors
People who give their time to SIA founders
n8n.archaeo.agency
Abc
- Helps with:
- Business planning
- Sectors:
- Women-led enterprise
- Languages:
- Urdu, English
More in Pathway
