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The <strong>Mowgli</strong> Foundation<br />
Annual Review and Accounts<br />
Financial period June 1 - Dec 31 2011
The <strong>Mowgli</strong> Foundation - Annual Review June 1 - Dec 31 2011<br />
“Meeting new business people from different sectors and different<br />
backgrounds, at my <strong>Mowgli</strong> training workshops in 2011, taught me<br />
a lot. Now, I have 2 mentees who I am very proud of. The <strong>Mowgli</strong><br />
experience provides unique opportunities for both mentors and<br />
mentees: I believe that the time invested with both my mentees was<br />
fruitful not just for them but for me as well. I consider that mentoring<br />
is a pillar, if not one of the most important pillars in improving<br />
entrepreneurship in Jordan.”<br />
Nidal Bitar<br />
CEO of SCOPI / Board Member of <strong>our</strong> partner, Young Entrepreneurs Association Jordan<br />
<strong>Mowgli</strong> Foundation (UK/Head Office)<br />
The 3rd Floor<br />
Bush House<br />
72 Prince Street<br />
Bristol<br />
BS1 4QD, UK<br />
Tel: +44 (0)1179 292 540<br />
Email: info@mowgli.org.uk<br />
<strong>Mowgli</strong> Jordan<br />
Care of: Young Entrepreneurs Association<br />
King Abdullah ll Street, King Hussein Business Park<br />
Bldg.10 First Floor<br />
PO Box 1652<br />
Amman 11821, Jordan<br />
Tel: +962 6 580 5379<br />
Fax: +962 6 580 5375<br />
Nada Jreissati Daher:<br />
“It was a great<br />
experience, the<br />
matching was great.<br />
The tools and hints my<br />
mentor gave me were<br />
mind blowing. I hope<br />
that next year I will<br />
be on the other side<br />
helping entrepreneurs.”<br />
Mentee, Lebanon programme,<br />
November 2011<br />
Welcome to the<br />
<strong>Mowgli</strong> Foundation’s<br />
Annual Report 2011<br />
2011 was a year of growth, development, and exciting new<br />
opportunities for <strong>Mowgli</strong> in the Middle East and North Africa region<br />
(MENA). I am proud to introduce <strong>our</strong> 2011 Report and share with <strong>our</strong><br />
supporters how far we have come in building a strong programme of<br />
mentoring for entrepreneurs.<br />
Many initiatives in MENA have made progress in 2011, despite the<br />
region’s economic challenges and political turmoil. We launched 8<br />
new mentoring programmes this year, supporting 81 entrepreneurs, in<br />
addition to continuing <strong>our</strong> ongoing programmes of support in Lebanon,<br />
Jordan and Syria. <strong>Mowgli</strong> also engaged with key decision makers in<br />
the region: the World Economic Forum’s Special Meeting on Economic<br />
Growth & Job Creation in the Arab World was a key event for us. We<br />
have continued to focus on developing the strong partnerships we<br />
have across MENA. The huge challenge we now face is the same one<br />
that was the initial reason for <strong>Mowgli</strong>’s inception: how can we, and <strong>our</strong><br />
partners, support and re-generate local economies, create employment,<br />
and strengthen enterprising eco-systems across MENA? Our answer, of<br />
c<strong>our</strong>se, is training mentors and matching them with entrepreneurs who<br />
have potential. We have achieved some fantastic milestones in 2011,<br />
which will move us closer to <strong>our</strong> vision of placing mentoring at the heart<br />
of leadership development and enc<strong>our</strong>aging local business communities<br />
to build their own enterprise support networks.<br />
One such milestone is that in 2011 we were successful in securing<br />
the support of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office for f<strong>our</strong><br />
mentoring programmes in Jordan. We would like to extend <strong>our</strong> thanks to<br />
the British Embassy in Jordan, and to all <strong>our</strong> Jordanian supporters, and<br />
hope that we can continue this successful partnership in the future. The<br />
Body Shop Foundation was another generous donor to <strong>our</strong> cause, and<br />
we would like to thank them for supporting a group of Lebanese women<br />
through the <strong>Mowgli</strong> programme in 2011. We would like to also thank<br />
key partners in each country - Berytech in Lebanon, the Syrian Young<br />
Entrepreneur’s Association, and the Young Entrepreneur’s Association in<br />
Jordan for their on-going support.<br />
The achievements of the inspirational entrepreneurs and mentors we<br />
work with at <strong>Mowgli</strong> are, however, the most important highlight of this<br />
Report. I would like to invite you to read on and hear some of their<br />
success stories in their own words.<br />
I am looking forward to another year where we help more entrepreneurs<br />
across MENA fulfil their potential through mentoring.<br />
Andrew Fischer<br />
Chair of <strong>Mowgli</strong> Foundation<br />
www.mowgli.org.uk<br />
2 3
The <strong>Mowgli</strong> Foundation - Annual Review June 1 - Dec 31 2011<br />
“Investing in the development<br />
of future entrepreneurial<br />
leaders is the key to<br />
supporting sustainable<br />
economic growth in MENA.”<br />
Bahaa Dababneh, Mentor:<br />
Although in the past I was doing some<br />
coaching and mentoring as part of my work<br />
at the Bank, when I attended <strong>Mowgli</strong>‘s<br />
fantastic training program in Jordan, I<br />
discovered that what I was doing was right<br />
but needed some tuning. I believe that my<br />
mentee Mohammed’s current success and<br />
progress reflects my support and my help.<br />
He and I have become close friends in a<br />
short period of time, and I believe in his<br />
business too- I try and promote it wherever<br />
I go. But I have also felt a personal impact<br />
from the mentoring experience: I feel that I<br />
can communicate my opinions better to my<br />
colleagues and to people in my personal life,<br />
and I started to change my way of thinking<br />
and to take more mature decisions. I also feel<br />
ready to be more positive, to treat negative<br />
happenings with a positive approach; and<br />
I feel ready to play a part in my community<br />
and share my stories with others.<br />
4<br />
Tony Bury - Founder<br />
and Trustee, <strong>Mowgli</strong><br />
Foundation<br />
<strong>Mowgli</strong> provides mentors who can make a real impact and these<br />
mentors also fill some of the gaps that exist, in supporting at a personal<br />
level the leaders of tomorrow - entrepreneurs. In the Middle East and<br />
North Africa (MENA) region, despite a year of political and economic<br />
uncertainty, the results you see in these pages from all <strong>our</strong> mentors<br />
and mentees show that mentoring has a real impact on the capacity<br />
of individuals to succeed. Importantly, <strong>our</strong> mentees have created jobs,<br />
and will continue to create jobs. This is the reason I founded <strong>Mowgli</strong>:<br />
after doing business in MENA countries for so many years, one cannot<br />
remain unaware of the need that these small businesses have for advice<br />
and support, or of the massive challenge of unemployment, particularly<br />
amongst young people. Our mentors also experience immense<br />
satisfaction from mentoring, as well as taking important learning and<br />
leadership skills back to their working life. Our hope is that mentoring<br />
helps to build human capital within businesses across the region.<br />
There is now great opportunity in the MENA region to continue <strong>our</strong><br />
work, and put entrepreneurial leadership at the heart of the community<br />
development and economic growth that we and <strong>our</strong> partners are<br />
working hard to support. But entrepreneurial leadership, we believe at<br />
<strong>Mowgli</strong>, will only have a lasting impact with a key ingredient included: a<br />
‘mentoring culture’, driven by local needs at the community level which<br />
gives successful people an opportunity to ‘pay it forward’. This is why<br />
<strong>Mowgli</strong>’s informal motto is ‘to serve is to lead.’<br />
The <strong>Mowgli</strong> Foundation is making plans now to expand and roll out<br />
<strong>our</strong> work across new countries in the MENA region, with a number<br />
of exceptional partners who share <strong>our</strong> vision of a healthy eco-system<br />
of support for the entrepreneurs they work with on the ground. We<br />
have now begun training local leaders to deliver <strong>our</strong> programmes in<br />
Arabic and French, a major step towards sustainability of <strong>Mowgli</strong>’s<br />
programmes, and we will be launching in a number of new countries in<br />
the next few months. There is still plenty of work to be done in 2012,<br />
however. If you are reading this in any one of the MENA countries,<br />
I can guarantee there are entrepreneurs who need mentoring in a<br />
community near you. We need companies, individual business leaders<br />
and public sector bodies at every level of enterprise support and within<br />
the business community to help <strong>Mowgli</strong> and <strong>our</strong> mentors to support<br />
entrepreneurs to make a difference. Please do get in touch with us and<br />
find out how you can help.<br />
My congratulations to all the exceptional <strong>Mowgli</strong> entrepreneurs who<br />
have achieved so much this year, and to the inspirational mentors who<br />
volunteered their time to help them succeed - without you, <strong>Mowgli</strong>’s<br />
work simply would not be possible. On behalf of the <strong>Mowgli</strong> team,<br />
thank you all for y<strong>our</strong> dedication and drive, and we look forward to<br />
working with you again in 2012.<br />
Tony Bury<br />
Founder and Trustee, <strong>Mowgli</strong> Foundation<br />
Infographic created by <strong>Mowgli</strong> Graduate -<br />
Feb 2011 WonderEight.com<br />
5
The <strong>Mowgli</strong> Foundation - Annual Review June 1 - Dec 31 2011<br />
Our Impact<br />
We would ask readers to bear in mind the challenges faced by those who were running small businesses in the Arab world, during the<br />
widespread upheaval which occurred in 2011. <strong>Mowgli</strong> Syria mentees were often unable to continue their relationships past 6 months<br />
due to being cut off from communications, meaning we cannot collect data from them - and indeed many have sadly been forced to<br />
leave both the country and their business. These issues also affected operational aspects of running <strong>our</strong> programmes in 2010-11.<br />
6<br />
<br />
2011. We launched a further two programmes in Jordan<br />
and the UK in January 2012.<br />
<br />
entrepreneurs in the Middle East since 2009, and 19 UK<br />
entrepreneurs since 2010.<br />
<br />
Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the UK.<br />
<br />
within the 8 countries, including Beirut, Ramallah, Amman,<br />
Jericho, Irbid, Damascus, Aleppo, Aqaba, Karak, Tunis,<br />
Programmes that ended in 2011:<br />
<br />
the programme and 88% felt the programme<br />
was beneficial to them and their business.<br />
<br />
for at least six months. 69% of relationships<br />
continued with regular contact for one year.<br />
<br />
the mentee feels they have moved from being a<br />
‘mentee’ to an equal or a peer.<br />
<br />
12 months will continue keeping in touch with<br />
their mentor on an unofficial basis.<br />
Gender balance on <strong>Mowgli</strong><br />
programmes<br />
Since the first programme in March 2009.<br />
57/175 entrepreneurs have been female (32%)<br />
We are working to improve the number of<br />
women who work with us. In 2010 34% of<br />
<strong>Mowgli</strong> entrepreneurs were female and in<br />
2011 the figure was 35%.<br />
Istanbul, Cairo, and in the UK from the Greater<br />
Manchester area and the South West.<br />
<br />
entrepreneurs who completed their year.<br />
<br />
in 2010 (and has been completed) created 10 jobs. On<br />
average each mentee on 2010 programmes created at<br />
least 1.5 jobs.<br />
<br />
created 118 jobs between them in MENA and the UK.<br />
Ramzi Ghurani:<br />
“<strong>Mowgli</strong> has simply<br />
changed my life and<br />
helped give me the focus<br />
and clarity to succeed.”<br />
<strong>Mowgli</strong> Jordan Mentee, Oct 2011<br />
2010<br />
2009<br />
23% 34%<br />
Mentee Case Study<br />
- Kashef Ahmad<br />
Kashef Ahmad is the Founder of the Taxi<br />
Academy, a training centre which helps<br />
people train as taxi or private hire car drivers.<br />
Having helped around 1000 trainees into<br />
self-employment, the Taxi Academy has<br />
received recognition for its business model<br />
from HSBC Startup Stars and the Smarta<br />
100 Awards for Innovation. He was matched<br />
with Andrea, his mentor, in 2010.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
www.mowgli.org.uk<br />
“When I applied for the <strong>Mowgli</strong> programme, I was quite cynical<br />
about what I might get out of it - I’ve been in business 20<br />
years, and I know my industry inside out. But in other ways<br />
I was actually desperate for some sort of outside help, to<br />
release the pressure of all the ideas, risks and decisions you’re<br />
considering constantly as a business owner. I quickly lost my<br />
cynical approach on the matching weekend. The whole thing<br />
was unexpectedly inspirational - we (the mentors and mentees)<br />
became close quickly, almost like a family.<br />
Andrea, my mentor, helped me over the year mainly because<br />
of how much empathy she has; she really took time to listen.<br />
When I had crucial decisions to make, I would ring her and<br />
talk; It was such a relief, to bounce decisions off someone first.<br />
Andrea was always there for me, especially last year when I<br />
had some personal issues to deal with alongside work. I feel<br />
that her support helped me to keep working on my business-<br />
not getting lost in it.<br />
Now, I consider that I’m a mentor to others around me,<br />
including many of the drivers we train. When you’re in business<br />
a long time, you get used to the repeated challenges and<br />
knockbacks that come with it- but, it can still be hard to stay<br />
motivated. Mentoring helps with that motivation. Even though<br />
I make little changes to my big vision every day, I now have a<br />
clear idea of what I’m aiming for with my business.”<br />
7
The <strong>Mowgli</strong> Foundation - Annual Review June 1 - Dec 31 2011<br />
8<br />
63%<br />
<br />
in 2011<br />
73%<br />
<br />
entrepreneurs<br />
62%<br />
<br />
Progress towards localising<br />
<strong>our</strong> mentoring programs<br />
increasing from<br />
0% in 2009 and<br />
13% in 2010<br />
*progress towards localising <strong>our</strong> mentoring programs<br />
<br />
intend to become<br />
a mentor to<br />
someone else in<br />
their community<br />
*embedding a mentoring culture<br />
<br />
were referred<br />
by <strong>our</strong> local<br />
partners and<br />
incubators<br />
*collaborating with local partners<br />
Financial stats (period July to December 2011)<br />
Income<br />
82%<br />
£314,993 donations<br />
<br />
18%<br />
£67,879 sponsorship<br />
5%<br />
<br />
92%<br />
Mentoring programmes<br />
www.mowgli.org.uk<br />
<br />
£44,072<br />
received as<br />
Benefits in Kind<br />
3%<br />
Governance<br />
costs<br />
9
The <strong>Mowgli</strong> Foundation - Annual Review June 1 - Dec 31 2011<br />
“Now I have begun to help<br />
others in the same way Chris<br />
helped me, like supporting<br />
other entrepreneurs as well<br />
as my employees.”<br />
<br />
Berytech, <strong>Mowgli</strong> Lebanon<br />
Partner:<br />
Lebanon needs entrepreneurs to contribute to<br />
the economy, limit ‘brain drain’, and create jobs.<br />
Entrepreneurship stimulates innovation, as well<br />
as creating success stories and inspirational<br />
role models within Lebanese communities.<br />
Berytech entrepreneurs who work with <strong>Mowgli</strong><br />
mentors receive a number of benefits, including<br />
getting clarity on their vision moving forward; an<br />
unbiased and structured relationship; and they<br />
also expand their network and gain valuable<br />
contacts. It’s important for entrepreneurs to<br />
have someone to bounce ideas off, and to<br />
enc<strong>our</strong>age them to be more systematic and<br />
rigorous about their business growth plans.<br />
In the future, Berytech and <strong>Mowgli</strong> hope to<br />
work together to develop more Mentor/Mentee<br />
experiences, as well as recruiting more mentors<br />
directly from the local community.”<br />
10<br />
<strong>Mowgli</strong> Mentee Case<br />
Study - Ala Suleiman<br />
Having graduated from the Jordan University of Science and Technology,<br />
Ala Suleiman, a <strong>Mowgli</strong> Jordan mentee and one of Oasis 500’s first<br />
companies, went on to work in several companies before opening his<br />
own business: Masmoo3, the first specialized Digital Arabic Audio Books<br />
Production house in the Arab world. Ala joined a <strong>Mowgli</strong> programme in<br />
May 2011 and was matched with a mentor from the UK, Chris Rawlins.<br />
“When I started (with <strong>Mowgli</strong>) I thought I wouldn’t need a mentor. On<br />
a personal level I thought I could handle the business on my own, I<br />
thought I was competent and self-motivated. But after being faced with<br />
challenges, market problems, investments… I couldn’t find anyone who<br />
believed in me as Chris believed in me. I found a great friend and a wise<br />
specialist in the business who kept me motivated during the hard times.<br />
We now have <strong>our</strong> own offices and have built <strong>our</strong> own studio, and have<br />
had to employ more staff. With more than 30 Arabic Audiobooks and 30<br />
Audio stories available for download worldwide, we are developing new<br />
and improved products, and we have launched a new website<br />
(www.masmoo3.com). Now I have begun to help others in the same<br />
way Chris helped me, like supporting other entrepreneurs as well as my<br />
employees. I now try to motivate them and give advice when they need<br />
support.<br />
I was wrong when I thought that mentorship was not for me - I can feel the<br />
results and I know that part of what motivated me was Chris’ mentorship.”<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Mohammed (centre) at a <strong>Mowgli</strong> mentoring workshop<br />
“Being a mentor has helped<br />
me too, since ultimately as<br />
business people we are all<br />
facing the same difficulties.”<br />
Impact on Mentors<br />
“The experience reinforced<br />
my purpose as a coach,<br />
mentor and business owner.”<br />
Mentor, Ghada El Kurd, Jordan 2011<br />
<strong>Mowgli</strong> Mentor Case<br />
Study - Mohammad<br />
Masadeh<br />
www.mowgli.org.uk<br />
Mohammad Masadeh holds a BA degree in Business Administration and<br />
Operations Research from Eastern Michigan University. With over 20 years<br />
of experience in consulting mainly in entrepreneurship and enterprise<br />
development in Jordan and across the Middle East, Mohammed now serves<br />
as a <strong>Mowgli</strong> facilitator and will promote and develop <strong>our</strong> <strong>Mowgli</strong> Jordan<br />
mentoring programmes.<br />
“The difference between regular mentoring and <strong>Mowgli</strong>’s mentoring are that<br />
other types of mentoring are usually done at a much faster pace. Mentors<br />
need to take more time, to ensure the entrepreneur reaches sustainability.<br />
Being a mentor has helped me too, since ultimately as business people we<br />
are all facing the same difficulties. For example, my two mentees were trying<br />
to raise capital for their businesses, as I was also trying to raise capital for my<br />
business the past year- so working with them gave me a better view of what I<br />
was really doing in my business. Also, you feel very good about y<strong>our</strong>self when<br />
you are giving, and when you help the person in front of you succeed!<br />
We face many problems in Jordan. One of <strong>our</strong> biggest problems is<br />
unemployment, and the solution is ultimately creating small and medium<br />
enterprises. We need to develop these companies, and the only way to<br />
develop them is through programmes like <strong>Mowgli</strong>.”<br />
95%<br />
<br />
<strong>Mowgli</strong> programmes to others<br />
87%<br />
<br />
to mentor others in their<br />
<br />
79%<br />
<br />
developed active listening,<br />
empathy and understanding<br />
<br />
11
Learn more about what <strong>Mowgli</strong> does<br />
Visit <strong>our</strong> website www.mowgli.org.uk and read <strong>our</strong> regularly updated blog posts<br />
Register for <strong>Mowgli</strong>’s quarterly newsletter at www.mowgli.org.uk/about-mowgli/mowgli-newsletter<br />
Follow us on Facebook at <br />
Follow us on Twitter on @mowglitweets<br />
Join <strong>our</strong> LinkedIn Group at www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1840711<br />
Watch <strong>our</strong> videos on <strong>our</strong> Youtube channel - <br />
Join the <strong>Mowgli</strong> family<br />
– Are you an entrepreneur looking for a mentor to help you grow y<strong>our</strong> business? If so, find out<br />
how you can join the growing network of <strong>Mowgli</strong> Entrepreneurs at<br />
http://mowgli.org.uk/about-mowgli/become-a-mowgli-entrepreneur<br />
Become a <strong>Mowgli</strong> Mentor – Are you an experienced professional looking to develop y<strong>our</strong> leadership capability and support an<br />
entrepreneur to grow their business? If so, find out how you can join the growing network of <strong>Mowgli</strong> Mentors at<br />
http://mowgli.org.uk/about-mowgli/become-a-mowgli-mentor<br />
Become a <strong>Mowgli</strong> Sponsor – Are you an individual or corporation who wishes to participant in and/or help change the trend that<br />
only 20-25% of start up enterprises succeed, as a result of mentoring? If so, email us at to find out how you<br />
can support entrepreneurs grow their businesses on <strong>our</strong> year-long <strong>Mowgli</strong> Mentoring Experience (MME) programs<br />
Become a <strong>Mowgli</strong> Partner – Are you an organisation that is already established within y<strong>our</strong> country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem<br />
and is looking to broaden y<strong>our</strong> service offering to include mentorship? If so why not become a <strong>Mowgli</strong> empowered partner?<br />
Contact us at <br />
Become a <strong>Mowgli</strong> Volunteer – Find out how you can volunteer and support entrepreneurship, mentorship and leadership<br />
development by emailing us at <br />
Contact us<br />
<strong>Mowgli</strong> Foundation (UK/Head Office)<br />
The 3rd Floor<br />
Bush House<br />
72 Prince Street<br />
Bristol<br />
BS1 4QD, UK<br />
Tel: +44 (0)117 929 2540<br />
Email: info@mowgli.org.uk<br />
<strong>Mowgli</strong> Jordan<br />
Care of: Young Entrepreneurs Association<br />
King Abdullah ll Street, King Hussein Business Park<br />
Bldg.10 First Floor<br />
PO Box 1652<br />
Amman 11821, Jordan<br />
Tel: +962 6 580 5379<br />
Fax: +962 6 580 5375<br />
Registered address: 1 The Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1P 3JT<br />
A Company Limited by Guarantee No. 06587752 (Charity Reg No. 1127087)