Mentorship as a Strategic Investment in Entrepreneurship
What if the real challenge facing entrepreneurs isn’t ambition, but structured support to turn ambition into growth?
The BiasharaPawa Dialogue in Kisumu explored how structured, continuous mentorship can help women and youth entrepreneurs become more market-ready, investment-ready and connected to formal value chains.
The Insight Paper highlights three things that make mentorship work: trust, structure and continuity - supported by practical capabilities in financial management, market strategy, compliance and sector-specific business guidance.
The message is clear: the real gap is not ambition - it is structured capability. Kisumu can strengthen its entrepreneurial ecosystem by moving from one-off workshops to coordinated, long-term mentorship systems involving government, ESOs, TVETs, the private sector and financial institutions.
Read the full Kisumu Insight Paper to explore the findings and recommendations for building a stronger mentorship ecosystem.
This is part of the IYBA-SEED Kenya initiative, implemented by SNV in partnership with Responsible Business Consulting, Kaizen Consultancy, Nakuru Box, Eldohub and Wisehub, with the support of GIZ, Expertise France, Enabel and other Team Europe development partners. Together, we’re creating dialogue spaces, strengthening entrepreneurial support systems and amplifying the voices of women and youth entrepreneurs.
