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Home / Call for Mentors

Someone did this for you. Do it for the next one.

We are looking for people who have been through it and can say plainly what they learned. Two mentees, two conversations a month, thirty minutes each. That is the whole ask.

Apply to mentor What is involved
34Mentors today
211Waiting for one
25Countries
30 minPer session
Why we are asking

Two hundred and eleven Fellows have asked for a mentor. We have thirty four.

The gap is the single biggest complaint we get, and it is not one we can solve by hiring. It is solved by people who have already done the thing giving half an hour a fortnight to someone who has not.

It is specific, not general

Mentees come with a problem, not a request to be inspired. A funding round, a submission deadline, a decision about whether to leave a job. You are answering a question you have already answered for yourself.

It is genuinely small

Thirty minutes, twice a month, on Teams. You set your own availability in the portal and nobody can book outside it. If a month is impossible you close your calendar and nothing breaks.

It counts for something

A Mentor badge on your directory profile, a letter of recognition at the end of each cohort, and first refusal on speaking places at YGLN events. Mentoring itself is voluntary and unpaid, and we would rather say so at the top.

The commitment

Four things we ask, and nothing else

We have kept this deliberately narrow. Mentor programmes fail when the ask grows.

  • 1
    Two mentees at a time You choose the number. Two is the default and most mentors stay there.
  • 2
    Two sessions a month Thirty minutes each, on Microsoft Teams, at times you have set yourself.
  • 3
    Say what you are not useful for Your profile asks this directly. It saves everyone a wasted session and it is the clearest sign of an honest mentor.
  • 4
    Tell us if you need to stop Life happens. Close your calendar or write to us and we will move your mentees. No explanation needed.
Who we are looking for

Experience that is real, recent and specific

This is you

  • You have five or more years in your field, or fewer but with something unusual behind you
  • You have made a decision the mentee is about to face, and you remember what it felt like
  • You can be honest about what went badly, not only what went well
  • You can hold thirty minutes twice a month for six months
  • You are a YGLN Fellow, or you are not and would like to be considered anyway

This is not

  • You are looking for clients, recruits or investors
  • You want to speak at events and see this as the route in
  • You can only commit if it fits around an already full year
  • You would rather give a talk than answer one person's awkward question
What happens next

Four steps, about three weeks

You apply

The form below, about eight minutes. Say what you can actually help with.

Today

We read it

Every application is read by a person. We check the fit against what Fellows are asking for.

10 working days

We talk

Thirty minutes on Teams. Not an interview. We are checking you know what you are agreeing to.

Week 3

You go live

Your profile appears in EMADCONNECT, you set your availability, and Fellows can book you.

Same week
Apply

Put yourself forward

Already a Fellow? You can do this inside the portal instead, and it will fill most of it in for you.

Mentor application

Nothing is published until we have spoken to you.

Three at most. A narrow choice gets you better matched mentees.

Used for your bookings until we connect the portal directly to Microsoft.

Questions

Before you apply

How much time is this really?
Two thirty minute sessions a month, so an hour, plus whatever preparation you choose to do. Most mentors do none. The sessions are booked against availability you set yourself, so nothing lands in your calendar unexpectedly.
What if I am matched with someone I cannot help?
Say so, early. It is not a failure and we would far rather rematch them than have both of you sit through six sessions. That is precisely why the form asks what you are not useful for.
Is there any payment?
No, in either direction. Mentors are not paid and mentees are not charged. It is a benefit of Fellowship funded by membership fees.
Do I need to be in Africa?
No. A good number of our mentors are in the UK, Europe and North America, and diaspora mentors are particularly useful for study abroad and career questions.
What happens if I need to stop partway through?
Write to us and we will move your mentees to another mentor. No explanation is required. We would rather you stopped cleanly than quietly stopped replying.
Will my details be public?
Your name, photo, role, country and focus areas appear in the mentor directory, which only signed in members can see. Your email and phone number are never shown. You control the rest.
Can my organisation partner with YGLN instead?
Yes. Several employers put forward a group of mentors and receive a partner code that reduces membership fees for their staff. Write to membership@yglnetwork.com.
One last thing

Half an hour a fortnight, for six months.

Two hundred and eleven Fellows are waiting. Most of them need one honest conversation with someone who has already been where they are standing.

Apply to mentor