News

May 11, 2012

Prisk calls for business mentors to support SMEs

More business mentors are being encouraged to join the national mentoring network and sign up to the Mentorsme portal.

Over 100 mentoring organisations are already part of the initiative. Now the business and enterprise minister Mark Prisk is leading the call for more organisations to sign up.

Prisk said, “The Government is committed to helping entrepreneurs get the advice and support they need to start and grow their business. Business mentors will pass on their knowledge to the next generation of entrepreneurs allowing them to boost their business and help grow the UK economy.”

Mentorsme is part of the Business in You campaign, the Government and private sector initiative aimed at encouraging more people to start or grow their business throughout 2012 using a range of existing support services.

Prisk said, “The campaign aims to unlock the growth potential of small and medium-sized enterprises. Mentors are a key component of the Government’s drive to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business.”

His comments were echoed by Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers' Association: "When you are running a business, support from an experienced and successful business mentor is invaluable. We are delighted to see Mentorsme growing and thriving, putting the UK's entrepreneurs and businesses in touch with mentors who can help them be a success story."

Hundreds of bank staff have pledged their support to the mentoring initiative by signing up to become mentors. These volunteers come from a broad cross-section of departments — including HR and marketing, as well as finance — so they will be able to help businesses in different ways.