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Guidance supporting Europe’s aspiring entrepreneurs
Policy and practice to harness future potential

5.1.3. National programmes
The US was the first country to introduce a national mentoring programme aimed
at new entrepreneurs. The programme known as SCORE (http://www.score.org/)
was introduced by the Small Business Association in 1964 and started its
operation with 2 500 voluntary mentors. Today, SCORE is a non-profit
association, which builds on the skills of 12 400 volunteer business counsellors
who are either working or retired business owners, executives and corporate
leaders.
National mentoring programmes are rare in Europe. Some countries do not
have any significant activity in this field (i.e. Bulgaria and Latvia). Many countries
have adopted a very fragmented approach with local and regional project and
pilot activities, but with little coordination. There are 79 mentoring schemes
operating in England, with 21 of these programmes operating across England
and 58 regionally specific, but the government has done little to coordinate
activities in this field.
Sweden is the only European country with a national, state-funded
entrepreneurial mentoring programme. In Sweden, the national Mentor Eget
Företag (mentor your business) was piloted in 2005; it is now a national
programme engaging 2 000 prospective or novice entrepreneurs every year (see
Example 29).

Example 29. Mentor Eget Företag (mentor your business) Sweden

Mentor Eget Företag was launched as a programme for 200 aspiring and 200 new entrepreneurs in
2006 and is now a national mentoring programme funded by Tillväxtverket, the Swedish Agency for
Economic and Regional Growth.
Targeting both new and aspiring entrepreneurs, the mentoring programme is run by two
organisations:
• ALMI Företagspartner, a state-owned company which promotes the development of Swedish
SMEs and new business creation. The role of the organisation in the programme is to support the
engagement of new business owners;
• NyföretagarCentrum (enterprise agencies) is delivered by the Swedish Jobs and Society
Foundation, a national umbrella organisation for enterprise agencies that provides professional
start-up advice for prospective entrepreneurs. Its role in the programme is to target prospective
entrepreneurs who are yet to set up their business.

Mentors and mentees
To qualify for the programme, aspiring entrepreneurs have to have a business concept that has the
potential to become a profitable company. New entrepreneurs include business owners with up to
three years experience. Mentees drive the mentoring process, determining their support
requirements relative to their needs and interests.
The mentors used are either self-employed entrepreneurs or come from senior business
management. They commit to working voluntarily with a mentee over a one-year period. Their role
in the mentoring process is to act as a sounding board, listen, ask questions, convey knowledge and
experience and, when possible, help to build a network of contacts for the mentee.

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