SANAD and Mowgli Mentoring team up to support Syrian and Lebanese entrepreneurs in Lebanon
The Entrepreneurship Academy of the SANAD Fund for MSME and Mowgli Mentoring have launched their second joint initiative, a mentoring program aimed at boosting the success of Syrian and Lebanese micro-entrepreneurs in the Middle East.
Following on the success of the six-month pilot project conducted in Jordan in 2018, the SANAD Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) Lebanon Mentoring Program officially kicked off with a Mentoring Awareness Session
delivered in July, and a 5-day Kickstart workshop that took place end of September, both facilitated by Mowgli Mentoring. The Mentoring Awareness Sessions paved the way for a rigorous evaluation process that saw 15 business leaders and professionals selected and trained as mentors before being matched with 15 Lebanese and Syrian micro-entrepreneurs sourced from the client base of “Al Majmoua” and “Ibdaa” microfinance institutions.
Ines Ebrecht, Chairperson of the SANAD Technical Assistance Facility which conducts the SANAD Entrepreneurship Academy, stated: “With its mandate to support economic growth and job creation in the Middle East and North Africa, the SANAD Fund for MSME has a keen interest in increasing economic
empowerment and quality of life for the region’s refugee population. The pilot program conducted with Mowgli Mentoring last year was a huge success in Jordan. In six months, all of the existing micro-enterprises saw a substantial increase in their sales and customer base, while four of the six business ideas had accelerated into revenue-generating enterprises. With the expertise of our valuable partner Mowgli Mentoring, we hope to achieve similar results this year.”
Adding onto Ines Ebrecht’s sentiments, Mowgli Mentoring CEO Kathleen Bury stated: “Through mentoring, we’re enhancing livelihoods and building bridges between refugees and host communities by supporting
both groups in actively engaging in economic activities that pour back into the greater Lebanon economy. The impact of entrepreneurial 360-degree mentoring which focuses on an individual’s personal and professional growth is clearly evidenced by the success of the pioneering six-month program delivered in Jordan last year. We are equally excited about the potential impact to be realized by this group of micro-entrepreneurs in Lebanon and thank the SANAD Fund for MSME team for their belief in mentoring as an effective tool that supports social impact and economic development.”
This joint project intends to provide a support system for refugees and local entrepreneurs to engage in sustainable, income-generating activities that promote positive relations between them, and their host community. To contribute towards the success of this program, experienced professionals and business leaders from Lebanon are highly encouraged to register and apply as mentors by following this link http://bit.ly/SANADMentors
About the SANAD Entrepreneurship Academy
Established in 2011, the SANAD Fund for MSME finances micro, small and medium enterprises and low-income households in the Middle East and North Africa via qualified local lenders. SANAD thereby fosters economic development and job creation — including youth employment — agriculture, affordable housing, and innovations in finance and financial technologies. SANAD strives to meet these goals by providing debt and equity financing to its local partners.
The SANAD Technical Assistance Facility multiplies the fund’s development impact and outreach through capacity-building with partner institutions, developing financial infrastructures according to the principles of responsible finance and conducting much required R&D. The SANAD Entrepreneurship Academy, a branch of the Technical Assistance Facility, provides targeted
support to entrepreneurs in the form of training, networking, mentorship, financial technology, and connection to financing opportunities.
SANAD’s investors include the KfW Development Bank, which initiated the fund; the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ); the European Union; Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO); OeEB, the Development Bank of Austria; Germany’s GLS Bank and GLS Treuhand; and the Dutch development bank FMO. A public-private partnership, the fund is advised by Finance in Motion GmbH, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
For more information, please visit: www.sanad.lu
About Mowgli Mentoring
Mowgli Mentoring is a not-for-profit organization driving inclusive economic and social change in the Middle East, North and Sub-Saharan Africa. Mowgli’s unique, accredited methodology provides a supportive framework which empowers entrepreneurs, corporate employees, women and youth to unlock their potential and seize new opportunities. Over the past decade, Mowgli has worked with philanthropists, and local and international governmental and private sector partners to provide mentoring across 17 countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and the UK.
Mowgli has trained more than 1,200 mentors who have supported entrepreneurs (across all levels including micro, refugee and SMEs) and corporate leaders/employees from all sectors. They create and ensure the
retention of jobs, producing a significant economic and social return on investment. As a recognized leader in the field of mentoring, the organization was awarded the European Quality Award by the European Mentoring and Coaching Council in 2016 for their program syllabus. In the region we
received the Ta’atheer Employment Generation Award in 2016 and the Mohammed bin Rashid Best Mentor Network in the Region in 2012.
To learn more about Mowgli Mentoring, visit www.mowgli.org.uk
Media Contacts
SANAD
Nikki Eggers
Senior Officer, Marketing & Communications
Phone: +49 (0)69 271 035–470
Email: press@sanad.lu
Mowgli Mentoring
Eva Waweru
Communications Manager
Email: eva.waweru@mowgli.org.uk
