MentorMe, a Germany based mentorship programme has been launched in Kenya. This part of a wider initiative to unlock employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people in the country.
MentorMe Kenya has partnered with the German Development Cooperation to offer digital mentoring to an expansive network of Mentors from both Germany and Kenya giving Mentees, specifically young Kenyans entering the job market and Kenyan micro and small business managers, access to an international outlook to the diverse sectors covered in the programme.
One of the key differentiators of MentorMe from any other mentoring programme is that it uses an algorithm-based digital platform to create perfect matches based on needs, requirements, and expertise. It also offers a community of learning across the two countries through, events, training and networking.
Salline Handa, MentorMe Kenya Country Programme Lead, had this to say, “The mentees will have monthly sessions with their mentors from Germany and Kenya for ten months. These sessions will be via Zoom, Skype or in person, with the mentees benefitting from the professional and industry experience as well as from the networks of their mentors.”
MentorMe Founder Karin Heinzl, had this to say, “We are excited to roll out this programme for the first time in the African continent and to establish our presence in Kenya. The programme has been highly successful in Germany since its inception, having facilitated over 2500 mentees to realize career development and business growth goals. For us mentorship is about more than just encouragement, it is a practical guide on how to define goals, where to source for relevant funding, where to find accessible learning tools for specific sectors and forecasts on emerging areas of disruption. We ultimately aim to make a significant contribution to young people’s lives.”
The partnership is extended under the “Employment and Skills for Development in
Africa” (E4D) programme, which was commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented locally by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). It is also co-funded by Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).
GIZ Country Director, Bodo Immink said, “GIZ is committed to equipping young people and micro and small businesses with the relevant skills and capacity to reduce unemployment and increase economic sustainability. In this partnership we are especially seeking out young
people and women’s businesses, including green businesses. We are happy to partner MentorMe Kenya to provide demand-oriented mentoring, training and networking events.
MentorMe Kenya is designed to help 200 job-seeking Kenyans between the ages of 18 and 35 find new jobs and to support upskilling of 300 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) for employment creation, enterprise development and access to value chains.
The intercultural exchange with mentees from Kenya is also a benefit for the mentors from Germany, Karin Heinzl, Founder, and CEO of MentorMe, said, “This is time well spent for both sides. The important thing is to meet at eye level. You help job seekers and MSMEs to gain a professional or economic perspective, learn an incredible amount yourself from this person from a completely diverse cultural sphere, and thus jointly create new opportunities, both locally and globally.”
If you are interested in the mentorship program, click here to register.