MedVentures : Berytech Mowgli Med-Mentoring experience  
 successfully links people across the Mediterranean region

Marseille, 28 septembre 2011 - Berytech in partnership with Mowgli  implemented the first Euro-Mediterranean Mentoring Experience, supported by MedVentures. This event, organised in the framework of the EU co-funded Invest in Med project was held from September 19 to 22 in a remote mountain resort in Lebanon, successfully pairing nine mentor-mentee relationships.    
      
Dubbed "MedMentoring" for the occasion, the program aimed to improve the capacity building of Euro-Mediterranean entrepreneurs and give them an international dimension through mentoring by investors, highly skilled diaspora members, and innovation and entrepreneurship networks from around the Mediterranean.
Mentees consisted of entrepreneurs who reached the final phases in MedVentures 2010 competition while their mentors hailed from ANIMA country partners. Partakers flew in from Algiers, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, the UK with the participation of Lebanese nationals as well.
Participants were able to discover the value of mentoring as a personal leadership development tool in which entrepreneurs can be motivated and influenced to understand the impact of mentorship in enhancing chances of business success, and obtain guidance during key transitions and decisions to grow their business.

The four-day program involved in the first half the mentors only, and covered mentoring skills development, while the second half linked each mentor to a corresponding mentee. Joint sessions covered business and cultural dimensions, entrepreneurship skills, and building successful relationships. They involved group discussions, one-to-one interactions, and even outdoor team-building activities.
Commenting on this Experience, Lynn Brucker, Mowgli Regional Director declared: "Mentors and mentees were completely focused on the process and delivering the work; and the chemistry between everyone was truly remarkable. Not only that, but every mentor was inspired by every entrepreneur and their business".

On the social side, participants relaxed around dinner and drinks either at the resort or in near-by village restaurants. Arab participants sang off-key renditions of famous Middle-Eastern and Lebanese singers, and where consequently dubbed the Mowgli choir."We are proud of our partnership with Anima and Mowgli, said Nicolas Rouhana, Director of Berytech. To pull it off required a team's effort. We look forward to plan many more programs, and this is just the beginning of the journey".
The mentor-mentee pairs will pursue this mentoring relationship over a period of one year, reporting to Berytech and Mowgli to ensure everyone is meeting the objectives of the program."Thank you, said Mentor Amjad Aryan, CEO of the International Chain Pharmacy One. "I look at all of these young people, and I am reminded of the beginning of my own journey. I learned so much about myself and the process, and I am committed not only to helping my mentee but also the others. This really was a gift for me."