The Mentorship Circle
Every member mentors the generation behind them, in their own discipline, on real work.
The Mentorship Circle is the commitment that turns a network into a pipeline. Every member who is able takes a mentee aged 16–24 in their own discipline, for six months at a time.
Mentees do not get invented homework. Where it is safe and useful, they work on live VOAC work — transcribing, documenting, sitting in on a trial — so what they learn is what the work actually demands.
It is free. It is also a commitment on both sides: mentors are volunteers with day jobs, so showing up is the price of a place.
What it produces
- Six-month mentor–mentee pairings across all five disciplines
- A published curriculum outline per discipline
- Mentees credited by name on any work they contribute to
Where it runs
- Nigeria
- Ghana
- Kenya
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Liberia
- Benin
The issues it answers
A programme with no problem behind it is a press release. These are the ones that justify this programme existing.
Across the continent · Education
Young Africans are trained for work that does not know how to find them
The continent's youngest-in-the-world population is graduating into economies that cannot yet absorb its skills, while communities go without exactly those skills.
The issue, and what we intend to do →Kenya · Education
Kenya trains more young professionals than it connects to real problems
A strong education system produces graduates who have rarely been placed beside a working problem in their own discipline before they leave it.
The issue, and what we intend to do →How to take part
Apply as a mentee through the join page. Members opt in to mentoring when they join and can pause at any time without leaving the network.