CFAs: Santander Breakthrough Women Business Leaders’ Mentoring Programme (UK)

If you secure a place on the programme:

• They’ll match you with a suitable mentor. Their mentors come from a wide range of sectors and have a minimum of 5 years’ leadership experience.
• They’ll help you think in different ways about your business. Your matched mentor will have the skills and experience to guide you through this.
• You’ll commit to meeting regularly with your mentor. With them, you’ll decide on your business objectives and the help you need.
• You’ll be given the resources to make sure you get the most from the programme.
• You’ll be part of an active network of female founders.

The programme runs March through to November. During this time, you’ll be expected to commit to a minimum of 30 hours of mentoring and learning.

Eligibility Criteria

• Mentee
  • What they look for in a mentee:
    • You’re a female founder, owner, or majority shareholder of a business.
    • You’re registered as a UK company.
    • You’ve been trading for a minimum of 18 months.
  • You’ll need to:
    • Be prepared to take responsibility for progressing your business.
    • Be open to receiving feedback and challenge from your mentor.
    • Be aware of your own strengths and areas for development.
    • Have a clear ambition to scale up your business. This could include increasing staffing, broadening your network and creating jobs.
    • Have not previously taken part in this programme as a mentee.
• Mentor
  • What they look for in a mentor:
    • Experience of having run or owned your own business or a business leader with corporate experience. Knowledge of small to medium size businesses is also required.
    • They take on both female and male mentors. What’s important is that you want to make a difference and support ambitious female business owners.
  • You’ll need to:
    • Understand how small and medium size businesses operate.
    • Be prepared to share perspectives based on your experiences.
    • Function as a positive role model.
    • Be committed, reliable and maintain discretion.
    • Have great listening skills and be easy to talk to.
    • Be comfortable completing initial mentor training.

For more information, visit Santander.