Mentoring website reaches landmark as 100th body signs up

The website, developed by banks, has attracted both British businesses seeking mentoring support and mentoring organisations across the UK. The site, www.mentorsme.co.uk, has had over 65,000 unique visitors and 435,000 page views since its launch in July 2011, and the number of mentoring organisations featuring on the site has more than doubled in that time to 100.

Entrepreneurs and businesses use the site to seek mentoring services that are right for them – in their geographic location and suitable for their type and stage of business.

Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers’ Association, said: “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 staff come from a broad cross-section of the banks’ departments – for example HR and marketing, as well as finance – so will be able to help businesses in many different ways.

“These staff will be deployed by the accredited mentoring organisations on Mentorsme and we are delighted to hit the milestone of 100 mentoring organisations on the site because it means more UK businesses can access help and support.”

The Mentorsme website is operated by the Business Finance Taskforce, which has been set up by the British Bankers’ Association and is made up of five banks – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander. The taskforce was established to help businesses access the finance they need to grow.

This year, the Government is running the Business in You campaign to encourage more people to start or grow their business throughout 2012 using a range of existing support services, including the Mentorsme portal.

Mr 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.”