The National Business Mentoring Council has identified 241 active mentoring programmes operated by 227 organisations across the UK, bringing together support available to entrepreneurs, growing companies and established smaller businesses. The council’s first UK Business Mentoring: The State of the Nation report maps organisations offering advice through universities, charities, public bodies, industry groups and commercial mentors.
The mapping exercise found that around 84% of the programmes identified offer mentoring free at the point of use. Services cover different stages of business development, from people preparing to start a company to owners seeking support with expansion, restructuring or leadership challenges. Access conditions vary between providers, which can make it difficult for businesses to identify a mentor with the right commercial experience.
The council estimates that around 840,000 businesses are using mentoring, against a UK population of approximately 5.5 million small and medium-sized enterprises. That leaves a substantial potential audience for support services, although the council has not provided a full calculation of participation in the public headline material. Some programmes may serve overlapping groups of businesses, and the figures do not show how many companies have unsuccessfully sought help.
Business leaders who had worked with mentors described benefits that extended beyond advice on a specific transaction. They cited greater confidence in management decisions, practical help during difficult trading periods and access to contacts who could assist with new commercial opportunities. Experienced owners and executives can also help founders evaluate the timing of recruitment, financing and investment when the company lacks a larger management team.
The council reports that 65% of surveyed leaders felt mentoring had directly helped increase their revenue and 63% associated it with growth in employee numbers. Among business owners with mentors, 53% expected to recruit over the following year, compared with 36% of those without one. These are respondents’ assessments and expectations, rather than independently measured gains attributable to mentoring; the public headline material does not establish the size and composition of each survey subgroup.
The findings nevertheless illustrate the range of problems businesses bring to mentors. Cash-flow forecasting, pricing, sales development and managing employees often require a different set of skills from founding a company. An external adviser may have experience of those challenges, but the match between the mentor’s expertise and a company’s current needs can determine how relevant the guidance is.
The National Business Mentoring Council is supported by organisations involved in enterprise, finance and professional development, including the Association of Business Mentors and the ScaleUp Institute. The council is seeking to make it easier for smaller companies to locate suitable help and to improve standards and information shared between programmes.
One measure is the banking industry’s relaunch of MentorsMe through UK Finance, providing a gateway to mentoring organisations across the country. The service is intended to help business owners find providers rather than having to identify each regional or sector initiative independently. Accurate listings of eligibility, adviser specialisms and availability will be important if companies are to make practical use of the directory.
Irene Graham OBE, chief executive of the ScaleUp Institute, said: “Key now is to make sure it is as easy as possible for businesses to find the right mentor, with the right credentials, to support their needs.” Georgina Waite, chief executive of the Association of Business Mentors, said the mapping provided an opportunity to connect more business leaders with relevant professional experience.
The council plans to use the results in 2027 to strengthen collaboration between providers, increase awareness and improve mentoring routes for young people, diverse founders and established companies. Its inventory provides a basis for identifying gaps by sector and business stage, alongside the programmes already operating nationally and locally. A fuller picture of participation and longer-term business outcomes will depend on the data gathered from those providers as the work develops.
You must be logged in to post a comment.