Mentorship in Entrepreneurship: From School to University to Start-Up
Today, there is no shortage of mentorship programmes in Russia. However, there is no systematic approach to mentoring in entrepreneurship. The absence of such an approach hinders the development of potential entrepreneurs, which is one of the reasons for the weak entrepreneurship growth and the minor share of small business in the GDP. What should be done to change the situation? A potential solution lies in creating a mentoring programme in three stages, where the first stage is the actual mentor training. Second stage will aim to create three mentoring ecosystems: for high school students, for university students, and for aspiring entrepreneurs. Third stage is providing a continuous development environment, from high school to mentor cultivation. Yesterday's student, a budding entrepreneur, should be a mentor for aspiring entrepreneurs of tomorrow. Can we talk about mentoring as one of the key drivers of entrepreneurial development? What is the role of government agencies in fostering a mentoring culture? What is the role of a mentor in a vocational guidance programme? Is there a system for selecting and motivating mentors?