2017IMPACT REPORT

WITH YOUR SUPPORT, WE ARE DRIVING SMALL

BUSINESS GROWTH THROUGH MENTORING.

Together, we’ve reached 47,000 entrepreneurs and 18,820 mentors with access to mentoring from

198 countries around the world.

Our community has made 30,000 mentoring connections,

leading to the creation of an estimated 17,000 new jobs.

In the face of a rapidly changing business landscape, the largest youth population our generation has ever seen, and unprecedented economic hardship for many, through the power of mentoring, MicroMentor remains committed to delivering vital business support to entrepreneurs around the globe.

Over 95% of the world’s businesses are small, medium or micro-sized enterprises and these small businesses are a known engine for job creation—accounting for up to 45% of total global employment. But

in emerging economies such as Latin America, the business survival rate is only 20%.

Significant barriers to economic stability lie in the paths of entrepreneurs, particularly for

LEADING THE GLOBAL MENTORING MOVEMENT

those in underserved communities. Rising global unemployment rates and unusual displacement rates, mold innovative entrepreneurs from necessity, yet limited access to resources and opportunities for skills development restrict their success. Traditional business development services that focus on access to capital and developing professional skills fail to address the need for supportive relationships with experienced professionals who have walked the path before. Mentors unlock ideas, tools, networks, and best practices that can make the difference between business success and failure.

For my team and me, success starts with the enduring power of the human connection. When I learn of mentoring pairs like Karim and Brian meeting on our platform and coming together across geographical and cultural boundaries to solve problems and build businesses together, I am inspired and filled with hope. By facilitating connections on our platform, we empower entrepreneurs to be changemakers and provide mentors with a deeper sense of purpose.

ANITA RAMACHANDRAN

Executive Director MicroMentor anita@micromentor.org

As I look ahead to 2018, I know this small but driven team is excited to continue to scale our impact, make mentoring more accessible, and increase the number of meaningful connections made on MicroMentor. The MicroMentor community is growing at an unprecedented rate, as demonstrated in 2017, in which we saw 3 times more connections than just two years before. I am committed to ensuring that our work is measurable, intentional, and community focused. With your support, we are igniting a global mentoring movement.

Join us in unleashing the power of mentoring for all.

OUR MISSION

TOP 5 COUNTRIES BY NUMBER OF MICROMENTOR PARTICIPANTS

32,947 United States4,720 Mexico3,460 India2,231 United Kingdom1,353 ColombiaData from 2008-2017

MicroMentor’s free and easy to use online platform enables the world’s largest community of purpose-driven entrepreneurs and business mentors to create powerful connections, solve problems and build successful businesses together. We strive to overcome geographical limitations and deliver business resources at scale to underserved communities around the globe through mentoring.

Since launching a regional office in 2013, MicroMentor Latin America has provided over 6,000 entrepreneurs with access to virtual mentoring and reached over 2,300 entrepreneurs with live events.

Since launching a regional office in 2014, MicroMentor Tunisia has provided over 500 entrepreneurs with access to virtual mentoring and reached over 2,000 entrepreneurs with live events

New MicroMentor Focus Regions in 2017: the Caribbean and MENA

37% of all mentoring connections were made across countries.

ENTREPRENEURS

47% Female 60% Ethnic Minority 31 Average Age Of the users who voluntarily reported this information

INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPANTS

42% Entrepreneurs 33% MentorsTotal proportion of MicroMentor participants from outside of the United States, 2008-2017

In Guinea, many people don’t have access to their own toothbrush – let alone dental services.

“I have seen people who come to the dentist and leave without treatment because they can’t afford to pay,” says Karim, “There is lots of unemployment and sometimes even a salary isn’t enough to cover dental treatment.”

Karim, a dentist by training, set out to solve this problem by providing discounted dental services, supplies, and dental hygiene education through his nonprofit Dentistes du Sud, but found it difficult to reach those most in need.

While considering opening up another location, Karim sought support through MicroMentor

and connected with Brian, the founding COO of Build-a-Bear. With experience managing Build-a-Bear stores around the globe, Brian warned Karim of the dangers of overextending himself with a second location and suggested instead that he build a larger customer base through active outreach in his community.

Karim visited schools, churches, malls, and orphanages to hand out tickets for free exams. As of 2017, Karim still has one location, but has tripled his customer base, doubled his revenue, hired three full-time employees, and improved the dental health of over 12,000 local community members.

Improving Dental Health in Guinea Through Entrepreneurship

Karim has improved the dental health of over 1200 local community members.

Karim, MicroMentor Entrepreneur 2015-2017

Each year, we survey members of the MicroMentor community who joined during the previous fiscal year, in order to assess their business outcomes over time. Year over year, we find that entrepreneurs who access mentoring through MicroMentor improve business outcomes, increase personal and professional skills, and expand access to resources and networks. MicroMentor can confidently say that mentoring through the platform is a key driver of economic change for entrepreneurs around the world.

2017 BUSINESS OUTCOMES SURVEY*

3,500 individual entrepreneurs were mentored

9,110 total mentoring connections were made

In FY16, each mentored entrepreneur received an average of 14.5 hours of mentoring.

That translates into $7,612,500 USD in pro-bono hours donated by volunteer mentors.**LAST FISCAL YEAR’S MENTORING OUTCOMES

* Data collected from participants who signed up on MicroMentor between July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016. While the MicroMentor community is global, the majority of survey responses received were from users in the United States.

** Based on the 2017 CECP Pro-Bono Valuation Guide of $150/hour

Entrepreneurs who were mentored on MicroMentor created an average of 2.1 new jobs

SUSTAINING AND CREATING JOBS

Entrepreneurs who were mentored on MicroMentor experienced a 39.5% increase in annual business revenue

INCREASING ANNUAL REVENUE

IMPROVING BUSINESS SURVIVAL RATE

With MicroMentor, 81% of mentored businesses survived the first 1-2 years

Along his entrepreneurial journey, Adnen had many mentors who helped him establish his business, one of the first coworking spaces in Tunis, but he never imagined that he could be a mentor to other young Tunisian entrepreneurs.

“In the beginning, when the MicroMentor team organized the first speed mentoring event inside my coworking space,

Paying It Forward in Tunisia through Mentoring

I had a clear misunderstanding of how mentoring could help my peers and despite my personal experience, I never thought that mentoring could have such an impact.”

The MicroMentor events that Adnen helped to facilitate mobilized over 220 young entrepreneurs, 15 of which are now Adnen’s mentees. Adnen plans to continue to implement regular MicroMentor speed mentoring events for young entrepreneurs in his community.

“Nothing feels better than seeing with your eyes the happiness of those youth you help into improving their lives, and seeing them realizing the endless opportunities ahead of them.”

BETTER BUSINESS OUTCOMES

Adnen, MicroMentor Mentor 2015-2017

IMPROVING SKILLS

PERCENT OF ENTREPRENUERS WHO REPORTED IMPROVED PERSONAL SKILLS

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GPERCENT OF ENTREPRENUERS WHO REPORTED IMPROVED BUSINESS SKILLS

BUSI

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54%

45%38%

42%38%

43% 42%

54% 53%

45%41%

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78% of mentees reported taking some degree of action based on their mentor’s advice.

Young Social Entrepreneurs Generate Employment for Women in MexicoLuis Miguel and his Enactus team from Centro Universitario de los Valles, UdG, are transforming sugar cane pulp into jobs with their social enterprise, Amazolli in Ameca, Jalisco, Mexico.

Luis and his team set out to find a way to create employment opportunities for local women in vulnerable situations. The team found that by partnering with sugar companies to collect their unwanted sugar cane pulp and turning it into paper products, they could provide a potentially scalable solution to female unemployment.

Looking to achieve the highest impact possible, Amazolli, used the Enactus mentoring network, powered by MicroMentor, to connect with Marcos Yamamoto, a Senior Executive of Nestle, who had a wealth of experience in strategic and financial planning. Over the course of three months,

Marcos helped solidify Amazolli’s dream of creating dignified employment for more women, by advising the group on a scalability strategy accompanied by realistic financial projections.

As Luis puts it, “As young people, we don’t have experience in management and organization. The platform allowed us to connect with a network of experts, with the corporate world, and take advantage of their talents to grow our projects.”

For Marcos, being a mentor represented a great opportunity to help a new generation have access to the same opportunities he had, “The world today demands that we be socially responsible to young people...The least that we can do is open the door for young people to our talent and experience.”

EXPANDING ACCESS TO RESOURCES, NETWORKS, AND MARKETS

PERCENT OF ENTREPRENUERS WHO REPORTED IMPROVED ACCESS TO RESOURCES

16%

3%FI

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26%

6%

PRO

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3%

15%

NEW

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51.4% of mentored entrepreneurs reported that they did not have access to other business development resources outside of MicroMentor

Luis Miguel and Enactus Student Team, MicroMentor Entrepreneurs 2017

Mentored Non-Mentored

FIND A MENTOR. BE A MENTOR. SHARE OUR IMPACT.

Karen, like many other entrepreneurs, worried that her startup journey would be filled with competition, insecurity, and potential failure.

As the co-founder Omiga Inc., she developed a business plan to manufacture new technology for an alcohol and drug screening device. Even though Karen worked extensively to define her product, she still needed help preparing her pitch for investors. Karen came to MicroMentor seeking support in refining Omiga’s value proposition, where she connected with several mentors, including

Michael, a volunteer mentor who signed up through his company, Hewlett Packard Enterprises. Karen shared her executive summary, business plan and pitch deck with Michael, who provided feedback and helped her refine her materials.

The pitch deck that Karen put together with Mike’s guidance helped Omiga raise $75,000 USD for pre-launch marketing, and the company already has plans for a second round of fundraising. Additional MicroMentor mentors supported Karen in growing her network, identifying potential investors, and guiding her in the production and assembly of the device.

Karen credits her mentors with providing not only the guidance but also the courage necessary to take her technology business to the next level.

“Every time I felt like I might be in over my head, Mike said I was perfectly positioned, providing me encouragement and personal support to get this project moving forward.”

Building Confidence for Women in Tech in Collaboration with Hewlett Packard Enterprises

MICROMENTOR PARTNERS

Entrepreneurs, volunteer mentors and impact partners like you make our work possible. Thank you for contributing to the MicroMentor movement, in which entrepreneurs have the power to change their communities and economies from within. If you’re not currently a member, we invite you to join us at micromentor.org, where you can sign up, start mentoring, and make a global impact.

Karen, MicroMentor Entrepreneur 2017

ABOUT MERCY CORPS & MICROMENTORMicroMentor is an initiative of Mercy Corps, a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. Mercy Corps partners to put bold solutions into action – helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.

At MicroMentor we are committed to a world in which everyone contributes to a thriving economic future. We empower entrepreneurs to be changemakers and provide mentors with a deeper sense of purpose. Through mentoring we create just and sustainable livelihoods for all.

Anita RamachandranExecutive Director

Mourad Hentati Program Manager

Tunisia

Dima Merheb Program Manager

Lebanon

David Wynn Product Manager

Tatiana Petrone Latin America Director

Rodrigo Morales Partnership Officer

Saif Bouktir Program Coordinator

Tunisia

Emily Joy Sr. Client Success and

M&E Officer

Sam Orwig Mentoring Success

Officer

MICROMENTOR CONTACT

Looking for an employee engagement program or want to launch your custom mentoring initiative? Check out solutions@micromentor.org or contact us at partnerships@micromentor.org

MICROMENTOR TEAM