By the time you read this newsletter, it will be 2012- the start of a new and exciting year for all Mowgli’s entrepreneurs and mentors. We also hope it will be a year in which Mowgli Foundation mentoring reaches out to more entrepreneurs, across more countries and communities. Read more below….

2011 has been a big year for Mowgli.

Jordan Mowgli Mentoring Experience 2011

We ran many more programmes in Lebanon, secured the generous support of the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office for our programmes in Jordan, and brought new faces into the Mowgli Foundation Middle East team to help us run even more programmes across the region.

In the UK…

we brought our first pilot programme to a close in Manchester, officially launched Mowgli Mentoring in the UK (with our first South West programme bringing Bristol, Bath and Somerset entrepreneurs together with local mentors in January) and became a partner of the UK Department of Business, Innovation and Skills ‘Mentorsme’scheme.

Tony at TEDX

Our founder Tony Bury was asked to speak at the very first TEDX Bristol… and our team got involved in Global Entrepreneurship Week in a big way both in the UK and the Middle East. Now, Mowgli is looking ahead. Mentoring got a great press worldwide in 2011: mentioned at the World Economic Forum in Jordan, and prioritised by the UK government, as a key driver for small business growth.

2012 holds great opportunities for the Mowgli Foundation and our in-country partners, as we try and support more and more entrepreneurs who will make a difference – by providing them with wonderful Mowgli Mentors. Make sure you keep up with us on Twitter for opportunities to be a part of the action in 2012- and thanks to those of you who did in 2011!

Mentoring Quote of the Month:

“People rightly see leaders as those who understand them, or who make the effort to try to understand them.  Only once you’ve listened will you have earned the right to speak your own point of view.”  (Dr A.J. Schuler)

Mowgli Community news for December:

• The Mowgli Foundation matched a new group of entrepreneurs with mentors in Jordan this December. Take a look at the pictures on our Facebook page!
• Mowgli Foundation’s facilitator Ian Prosser conducted a training session at INJAZ, the Jordanian not-for-profit organisation who support Jordanian youth. Read more here.
• In the UK we spent December lining up a fantastic group of mentors and entrepreneurs for our first South West programme, starting in January 2012. Watch this space for more!

Opportunities in 2012:

There are still one or two spaces for mentors and entrepreneurs on the upcoming Jordan programme in January 2012. To get involved, contact Mowgli Jordan directly.

We’re always recruiting for British mentors and entrepreneurs who wish to be involved in Mowgli programmes in the South West and North West UK in 2012. Read more.

Case Study:Mowgli Mentor Chris Winslet

Boudy and Chris

Remember Mowgli Lebanon entrepreneur Boudy Nasrala? Here, his mentor Chris explains how mentoring helped him get a new perspective, after a professional consulting career.

Interesting Reads:

• Thanks to Adrian in the Mowgli Foundation LinkedIn group, check out this New research into formal mentoring programmes and their effectiveness.
• From the UK’s ‘Third Sector’ publication: a 2011 reflection on “The year in social enterprise.”
• And a word from a Mowgli Mentor: What will you regret not doing in 2012? A thought for the New Year.  Thought-provoking and insightful. Thanks to Mustapha Koriba.

Mowgli Team Update:

Thanaa- Mowgli Jordan

We would like to welcome on board our new Mowgli Jordan Country Manager, Thana’a Khasawneh (a Mowgli Mentor too!). She will be a local point of contact for Jordanian partners, mentors and entrepreneurs.Contact Thana’a direct if you can offer her your time in support of Mowgli’s mission in Jordan- we always need volunteers and your help is much appreciated.

If you wish to support our work investing in mentors and entrepreneurs who will make a difference, please donate online to the Mowgli Foundation fund. Click here.

Happy New Year to all!

The Mowgli Foundation team wishes you and your loved ones a safe, rewarding and prosperous 2012.

Power of Mentorship audience, Beirut

The Mowgli Foundation was also awarded a GEW High Impact Award for our UK event, which you can see on our website now!

Mentoring quote of the month:

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”  (Leo Buscaglia)

Mowgli Community News

News from Lebanon: GEW Lebanon was a jam-packed  ten days of entrepreneurship events and learning workshops.  With Mowgli-hosted events including an interactive ‘Power of Mentorship’ session (in partnership with the CISCO Entrepreneur Institute), a special co-hosted Entrepreneur’s Jam with Berytech and CISCO, and another of our Mowgli Mentoring Experiences….

Another group of entrepreneurs starts their journey: Lebanon, Nov 2011

….GEW Lebanon was an inspirational week for the Mowgli community. Thanks to the GEW Lebanon team and all our wonderful partners and supporters.

UK:

Mowgli held the first UK based Entrepreneurs Jam, in Bristol. Tristan Hogg of Pieminister gave his time to speak to the assembled entrepreneurs about his journey to success with the famous South West pie company. Read more about the night here in Mowgli volunteer Paul’s blog post.

Tristan Hogg (Pieminister) addresses Mowgli entrepreneurs

Mowgli CEO Ian McKay updates our UK-based mentors on upcoming opportunities for volunteering in 2012.

Mowgli held a launch night in Manchester to celebrate upcoming programmes in 2012. It was also a closure celebration for the Manchester MME group of 2010.

Mentoring Case Study

Mowgli mentoring, the programme, and how it helps the mentor develop time management skills-plus learning when to ‘hold back’, with Helen Tindale and her Mowgli Syria mentee Radal.

Opportunities in Jordan and UK: January

The Jordan mentor matching programme in December will  have started by the time you read this newsletter…but there are still places for mentors and entrepreneurs in January, on the MME sponsored by the British Embassy’s Arab Partnership Fund. Please forward to friends or colleagues who may want to take part in this great experience!

Mowgli Jordan MME 2011

As you might remember, last month we launched Mowgli mentoring programmes in the South West. We have some amazing mentors and entrepreneurs signed up already, but there are still spaces on the January programmes so please apply now! Deadline Dec 15th.

Interesting Reads:

• Business ‘growing pains’: Anne Kennedy, Mowgli Mentor, wrote us a 2-part blog post about the ‘Greiner curve’ and phases of business growth. When you’re struggling with a growth ‘crisis’, how can you manage and understand that change?
• 
  Most popular Twitter link this month: What is motivation and why are people motivated to work hard, to make sacrifices, to be altruistic? From the Mowgli Knowledge Centre Leadership Skills section. 
  
• Gallup recently released a global survey showing the effects of mentoring on entrepreneurial ambition. But is there really cause and effect? Join the discussion in the Mowgli Foundation Linkedin group.
• Why family businesses need to bring entrepreneurial spirit back into the fold. Tony Bury presented his thoughts at the Next Generation Entrepreneurship conference in Dubai this November.

Entrepreneur of the Month:

Mowgli Lebanon mentee Esraa, who many of you may know from Entrepreneur’s Jams, was recently a finalist in the Ideaz Prize competition in Lebanon and has had her mentoring relationship profiled by Time Out Beirut.

Thanks for reading- see you next month for the New Year edition!

 Autumn is a time of harvest…but Mowgli mentors and entrepreneurs are sowing seeds faster than ever.

Lebanon MME (thanks to Lynn for pic)

Welcome to a packed newsletter! The ‘sowing seeds’ metaphor is an apt one- we have run two new mentoring programmes in Lebanon and Jordan this October! It’s also time for last year’s mentors and entrepreneurs to review and gather the ‘harvest’ of their achievements- read more below.

Across the MENA region, meanwhile, the momentum gathers behind entrepreneurship at a massive rate- and Mowgli is part of it (see Tony’s blog). The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office held an event in Jordan to pledge their support for our work with Jordanian entrepreneurs this month- a fantastic event to mark a period of support for entrepreneurship, which we hope will sow many more seeds across the country.

And in the UK- we have exciting plans for the North West and South West, with Bristol activities coming up in November! Read on and find out more…

Mentoring Quote of the Month

“A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could.”  – Unknown

Mowgli Community News

Global Entrepreneurship Week this November- What is it, and how is Mowgli celebrating? We’re running activities in the UK and in Lebanon. Read more here.

Two new MMEs for Mowgli Lebanon and Mowgli Jordan ran in October- and 21 more Mowgli entrepreneurs have now kicked off their mentoring year. Read more about the Jordan programme and theLebanon programme at the Mowgli and Berytech blogs (photos too!) Mowgli would like to thank the Body Shop Foundation for its kind support in Lebanon.

What’s happening with Mowgli in the UK? Read our updates on UK -based activity and find out how you can help or get involved.

Tony and Lina speak to a packed room at the Jam in Amman

Entrepreneur’s Jams in Lebanon and Jordan were buzzing this October. In Jordan, Tony Bury was joined by Lina Hundaileh- Mowgli mentor and winner of Empretec Women in Business award- as a wonderful guest speaker, telling the story of how she built her successful chocolate business. Read more here (and see the photos!)

Mowgli Community gathering in Dubai: UAE based mentors, entrepreneurs and other supporters of Mowgli’s mission gathered for a great evening together with Tony Bury, Mowgli’s founder, this October. Here’s the pictures! (Motaz Hadaya, Mowgli Syria entrepreneur now in Dubai, is keen to keep the UAE network going. Find out more in the Mowgli LinkedIn group.)

ENTREPRENEUR CASE STUDY: Lubna Latif took part in our Manchester pilot. Read about how the first few months with her mentor, Mustapha, made a difference to her work/life balance. Thank you both again for taking part, we hope you’ve had a wonderful year.

Eid Mubarak

On behalf of All at Mowgli Foundation, we would like to wish you a very joyful and blessed Eid filled with joy, health, wealth, happiness, love, peace and compassion. Happy Adha Eid to you and all your beloved family members and friends.

Opportunities:

We’re still accepting entrepreneurs’ applications in South West UK, and looking for Arabic speaking mentors in Jordan and Lebanon, for programmes coming up in the next few weeks. Mowgli always need participants to apply for ongoing programmes too. Please visit our website and click on ‘Get Involved’.

Entrepreneur of the Month

Abdulhameid Grandoka (Mowgli Jordan). Read more about Abdulhameid and his business, online marketplace Taltol. Abdulhameid is working with the support of his mentor Zahi, and helped out the Mowgli team by taking photos at the Jordan Jam this month (thanks!)

Interesting reads:

• Tony Bury, Mowgli’s Founder, was especially fired up by 3 key ideas at the World Economic Forum’s Special Meeting on Economic Growth and Job Creation in the Arab World, in Jordan. Read Tony’s blog here.
• How do you know who to mentor? And how do you get the ‘mentoring equation’ right? Article from the Harvard Business Review. (We’re discussing it in the Mowgli LinkedIn group here.)
• The Mowgli Knowledge Centre for Entrepreneurs : Developing Strategy. Do you need to work out a growth plan? Do you know what your strengths and weaknesses are? Find out more here. (special section for social enterprises, too!)
• ‘Critical Phases of Mentoring in the Life of an Entrepreneur’- downloadable for free in English and Arabic. Click here

Support us- Support mentoring!

Mowgli’s mentors, providing support to entrepreneurs, helped to create over 100 jobs in MENA in 2010. Donations to our charity fund are always welcome-  click here to donate securely online.

Thanks for reading -see you next month!

Make sure you keep up with the @mowglitweets Twitter feed for Foundation-wide news. If you’re in the UK, follow @mowgliuk.

Mowgli is a Company Limited by Guarantee No. 06587752 (Charity Reg. No. 1127087)

Medventures entrepreneurs in Beirut

Mowgli UK team at the Bristol launch. Mowgli Entrepreneur Tom Garry with his mentor Jason and the Lord Mayor!

It’s been a packed month! Here’s our news for September:

• Mowgli UK Launch Night in Bristol for South West mentoring programmes….. Mowgli UK entrepreneur Tom Garry spoke about the impact of his mentor on his business. Read more
• Lebanon entrepreneurs- September held both a Beirut Entrepreneurs’ Jam, and the launch of our mentoring programme for Medventures entrepreneurs. Read more about the  Medventures programme- and check out pics of the Entrepreneurs Jam here.
• 2 Mowgli Jordan entrepreneurs secure investment for their business- well done to Mowgli mentees Zaid Amireh (dakwak) and Ala Suleiman (Masmoo3). Read more.
• Tony Bury speaks at TedXBristol: you can watch all the speakers again here

Mowgli Community

• Upcoming programmes in Jordan and Lebanon this October! Still a very few places left... Read more
• Volunteers needed in Bristol! The Bristol Mowgli UK office is looking for voluntary assistants to work with our team as we launch new projects! Read more on the Enternships website.

• Get published on Mowgli’s partner WAMDA site! We need writers who have tips on entrepreneurship and mentoring… If you’re keen to pass on your knowledge about how to get investment or how to conduct a great mentoring meeting (tell us your ideas for topics), we want to hear from you. Email cordelia@mowgli.org.uk

• Mowgli Team change: Please note that Linda Parkinson-Hardman has passed over responsibility for social media networks to the UK office team (though she continues work on our website). With thanks to Linda for her continued support and hard work.

Mentoring Quote of the Month:

“Really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great”.- Mark Twain

Interview: Nadine Asmar: from Mentee to Mentor

Nadine and her Mowgli mentor Ian working together

…the story of Nadine’s journey from an incubator in Lebanon, to becoming a Mowgli mentor, with the support of her own mentor Ian. Read more

Mowgli Publications:

• Tony Bury’s letter as Mowgli’s very first Annual Review is published…..along with our Impact Report .  Read more

• ‘Critical Phases of Mentoring in the Life of an Entrepreneur’- downloadable for free in English and Arabic. Click here

Support us- Support mentoring!

Mowgli’s mentors, providing support to entrepreneurs, helped to create over 100 jobs in MENA in 2010. Donations to our charity fund are always welcome-  click here to donate securely online.

Interesting reads:

• Join our LinkedIn Discussion about ArabNet Cairo, the first conference in Egypt for Arabnet’s special digital entrepreneur community. We’re attending- are you? Read More (LinkedIn discussion)
• Why mentors help entrepreneurs learn- it’s psychological!… A blog post by Mowgli’s Cordelia Lonsdale, hosted by BusinessZone (a UK magazine for businesspeople.) Read more 
• Building an Entrepreneurial Society in the Arab World- thought provoking article from a blog hosted by Mowgli partners, WAMDA

Thanks for reading -see you next month!

Mowgli is a Company Limited by Guarantee No. 06587752 (Charity Reg. No. 1127087)

Latest Blog Posts

• Simon Edwards reflects on how entrepreneurship is similar to climbing mountains
• We have a guest post from the talks about that most important quality of leadership – self knowledge
• The Mowgli Foundation has issued a call for Mentors for Lebanon and Jordan in September and October 2011.

By the way, if you have a great idea for a blog post that you would like to share with the Mowgli Foundation and our audience, please do feel free to get in touch and let us know, why not email Cordelia with your thoughts and suggestions on cordelia@mowgli.org.uk.

Featured Entrepreneur

Each week on the website you will find a ‘featured entrepreneur’ at the bottom of every page and this week it is Don Twyford who takes to the featured spot.  You can find out a little more about Don at: http://mowgli.org.uk/2764/don-twyford.html

Events Coming Up

We have a huge number of events coming up in the next few months, why not see if you can make one or two and may be come along to meet some of the Mowgli Team if we are there You can also see all the events on the new website.

• TEDxBristol Gathers Local Thinkers and Innovators – 8th September 2011
• nfp technology 2011 - 29th September 2011
• ClearlySo Social Business Conference - 11th October 2011
• Women in Business Entrepreneurs Forum: 17-19 October

Latest Useful Resources

• This week I thought I’d share one of my favourite resources from the Mowgli Foundation website which is a fabulous article Creativity and Innovation for Entrepreneurs

We are always on the look out for useful resources, both on and off-line and if you have one you find particularly helpful then why not let us know and we’ll add it to our growing database.  http://mowgli.org.uk/about-mowgli/suggest-a-link Over the coming weeks we’ll be looking at ways of making these resources and links even more accessible, but for now they are all listed on our delicious account.

What are we discussing on Linkedin?

“Should Business Mentoring Be A Free or a Paid Service” You may remember that we had a poll running on LinkedIn.  The poll has now finished and I thought you might like to see the final results and the debate that the question inspired.

I also wanted to add this discussion we started a little while back “Are Entrepreneurs the Modern Pioneers?” – what do you think?

It would be easy to see why so many people might see all this as an indication that the world as we know it is coming to an end, and in many ways they may be right.  It is only through such visible acts that change can occur, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that this has to be change for the negative; it can, and usually does, instigate change for the better far more frequently.

We can see the results of such change in the way that business changes it’s ‘look and feel’. A great example of this is rise of the ‘Social Enterprise’ which pioneers business that creates an entity which has significant social outcomes as a core, defining principle.  Karl, the Mowgli Foundations UK Business Development Director, recently wrote in FightBack Britain – State of UK Social Enterprise about how 39% of all social enterprises are based and working in the 20% most deprived communities in the UK adding that this is where they can also have the greatest impact.  Just maybe, it is changes to the way we do and think about business, that can help to change the social and cultural landscape too.

Latest Blog Posts

• The Mowgli Foundation received a lovely thank you letter from the King Abdullah II Fund for Development following a presentation and session made by Lynn Brucker our MENA Director.
• Karl writes in FightBack Britain about how social enterprise is becoming an accepted business structure which has far-reaching implications for the future of the communities they find themselves in
• An interview with one of our Mowgli Entrepreneurs reveals that the Mowgli mentoring programme is not just for start-ups but has real value for well-established businesses too.
• The Mowgli Foundation has issued a call for Mentors for Lebanon and Jordan in September and October 2011.
• We will shortly be launching our first UK mentoring programme to be based in the South West.  You can find out more about the programme at the taster events we are holding and on the website.

By the way, if you have a great idea for a blog post that you would like to share with the Mowgli Foundation and our audience, please do feel free to get in touch and let us know, why not email Linda with your thoughts and suggestions on linda@mowgli.org.uk.

Featured Entrepreneur

Each week on the website you will find a ‘featured entrepreneur’ at the bottom of every page and this week it is Sami Atoui who takes to the featured spot.  You can find out a little more about Samy at: http://mowgli.org.uk/4917/samy-atoui.html

Events Coming Up

We have a huge number of events coming up in the next few months, why not see if you can make one or two and may be come along to meet some of the Mowgli Team if we are there You can also see all the events on the new website.

• TEDxBristol Gathers Local Thinkers and Innovators – 8th September 2011
• nfp technology 2011 - 29th September 2011
• ClearlySo Social Business Conference - 11th October 2011
• Women in Business Entrepreneurs Forum: 17-19 October

Latest Useful Resources

• We’ve put together a great overview of how to develop strong contracts – which are essential for anyone running a business these days.

We are always on the look out for useful resources, both on and off-line and if you have one you find particularly helpful then why not let us know and we’ll add it to our growing database.  http://mowgli.org.uk/about-mowgli/suggest-a-link Over the coming weeks we’ll be looking at ways of making these resources and links even more accessible, but for now they are all listed on our delicious account.

What are we discussing on Linkedin?

“Should Business Mentoring Be A Free or a Paid Service” This time it’s a LinkedIn Poll that we’d love to have your feedback on.  It was prompted as a result of a telephone call that Cordelia received in the office.  So, what do you think – should mentoring be free or paid for?

Actually that’s not too far from the truth and one of Cordelia’s latest news updates on Twitter showed that we had been successful at creating 96 jobs in our entrepreneurs businesses which just goes to show that the Mowgli mentoring intervention does have a significant influence.

I titled this newsletter the Blog and LinkedIn tapping edition with a wry smile, firstly I wanted to link it to current events, but also to remind everyone that we do try very hard to bring you all the very best information we can around the subjects of mentoring and entrepreneurship and whilst our newsletter showcases just some of the blog posts and discussions that take place, there is a veritable mine of useful articles and conversation that we can’t include simply for reasons of space.

So, my challenge to all our readers this week is to get stuck in and have a look around the website, our LinkedIn Group and our Facebook Page and see what gems you can find that will help you in your business or your mentoring practice.

Latest Blog Posts

• We’ve had great news in the last couple of weeks that the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office are support entrepreneurs in Jordan through both the Mowgli Foundation and The Arab Partnership Fund
• Cordelia has written an excellent article that asks the question ‘what is entrepreneurship and why is it important for our economies?”
• Ghada El Kurd is a guest blogger and mentor with Mowgli and she has shared a post called ‘There is no such thing as a silent investor or a silent partner‘ – it makes very interesting reading
• “Taking a stand; being uncompromising in business” is the challenge thrown down by Krishna Kumar
• Finally, Ian (our CEO) has shared some of his favourite mentoring articles which I think you will see make excellent reading.

By the way, if you have a great idea for a blog post that you would like to share with the Mowgli Foundation and our audience, please do feel free to get in touch and let us know, why not email Linda with your thoughts and suggestions on linda@mowgli.org.uk.

Featured Entrepreneur

Each week on the website you will find a ‘featured entrepreneur’ at the bottom of every page and this week it is Sana Yazigi who takes to the featured spot.  You can find out a little more about Sana at: http://mowgli.org.uk/1709/sana-yazigi.html

Events Coming Up

We have a huge number of events coming up in the next few months, why not see if you can make one or two and may be come along to meet some of the Mowgli Team if we are there You can also see all the events on the new website.

• TEDxBristol Gathers Local Thinkers and Innovators – 8th September 2011
• nfp technology 2011 - 29th September 2011
• ClearlySo Social Business Conference - 11th October 2011
• Women in Business Entrepreneurs Forum: 17-19 October

Latest Useful Resources

• I thought I should promote our own set of useful resources and posts about tools and techniques.  You can find them all on our website.

We are always on the look out for useful resources, both on and off-line and if you have one you find particularly helpful then why not let us know and we’ll add it to our growing database.  http://mowgli.org.uk/about-mowgli/suggest-a-link Over the coming weeks we’ll be looking at ways of making these resources and links even more accessible, but for now they are all listed on our delicious account.

What are we discussing on Linkedin?

“What is entrepreneurship and why is it important to our economies?” This is the discussion that follows on from Cordelia’s blog post and I thought it was worth highlighting because, as Cordelia quite rightly points out, there are many differing opinions about what an entrepreneur is and how they contribute to the wider economy.

Not so in the Mowgli Foundation though as we have LOADS of news to talk about, so much has been going on, it could be difficult to fit it all in to just a single newsletter.  You can read much more about EVERYTHING we’ve been up to by following the various links to our blog posts.

But first up – the founder of Mowgli has been on Tour in the Middle East.  Tony Bury has been chatting to Wamda, visiting Berytech and then dining at the Al Saha Restaurant in Beirut for the very first Mowgli Entrepreneurs Jam.  There are links to all sorts of info about the ‘tour’ at the blog links below.

Latest Blog Posts

• Mowgli Entrepreneur gets iPhone app downloads of 338,000 in just TWO WEEKS! - We’ve just had really exciting news here in the Mowgli Foundation offices, one of our entrepreneurs, Elie-Grégoire Khoury and his company, DerManDar released their first iPhone App on the App store on June 8th and the cummulative downloads have already reached 338,000 downloads by 23rd June.
• The Power of Mentoring – Wamda Webinar - Tony Bury, the founder of The Mowgli Foundation spoke with Wamda during this fabulous webinar about how powerful mentoring can be for entrepreneurs.
• Calling all MENA entrepreneurs: how would you like $20k of PR support? - Said Kassem and Active PR have launched a fabulous competition offering $20,000 of PR support exclusively to MENA Entrepreneurs who have just started up their business and who are keen to promote their business within the MENA region AND globally.
• Lessons for entrepreneurs from Andre Villas-Boas - Ian shares the 8 lessons from life that he’s learnt from Andre Villas-Boas? Who is Andre Villas-Boas? He is the coach of Portuguese football side Porto, and likely next manager of English Premiership team Chelsea.
• Social Entrepreneur of the Year Competition – Middle East Competition starts
• Jade Dagher, a volunteer mentor with Mowgli has given us his unique perspective on the Mentoring Experience - A very special souvenir from Lebanon
• Morgan Foundation Entrepreneur Awards 2011 – find out more now!

By the way, if you have a great idea for a blog post that you would like to share with the Mowgli Foundation and our audience, please do feel free to get in touch and let us know, why not email Linda with your thoughts and suggestions on Linda@mowgli.org.uk.

Featured Entrepreneur

Each week on the website you will find a ‘featured entrepreneur’ at the bottom of every page and this week it is Tareq Ibrahim who takes to the featured spot.  You can find out a little more about Tareq at: http://mowgli.org.uk/1712/tareq-ibrahim.html

Events Coming Up

We have a huge number of events coming up in the next couple of months, why not see if you can make one or two and come along to meet some of the Mowgli Team  You can also see all the events on the new website.

• 4th July - Exclusive Mowgli Jordan Event – Entrepreneurs Jam
• 21st – 24th July - 1st International Conference on “Transforming Conflict:” Sharing Tools for Cross-Cultural Dialogue, Toledo Hotel, Amman, Jordan
• TEDxBristol Gathers Local Thinkers and Innovators – 8th September 2011

Latest Useful Resources

• This set of useful strategic and business planning resources will be helpful for anyone who is getting started with their business.

We are always on the look out for useful resources, both on and off-line and if you have one you find particularly helpful then why not let us know and we’ll add it to our growing database.  http://mowgli.org.uk/about-mowgli/suggest-a-link Over the coming weeks we’ll be looking at ways of making these resources and links even more accessible, but for now they are all listed on our delicious account.

What are we discussing on Linkedin?

“Activating your inner leader.  How much of your success depends on your ability to lead others? ” I’ve just read an interesting article by Martin Zwilling on Forbes.com titled ‘how to tap into your inner leader’. It was written with entrepreneurs and start-ups in mind suggesting that to be successful they need to develop well honed leadership skills as well as business skills.

We have groups and forums that you can join – some of which are only available to the members of individual Mowgli Mentoring Experiences – but others which are open to anyone who has an interest in business, entrepreneurship and mentoring in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the UK.

Our first members are getting stuck in and they’d love you to join them as well.  You can do so by visiting : http://mowgli.org.uk/register

Latest Blog Posts

• How do young Arabs feel about entrepreneurship and opportunity? This is the perfect post if you want to find out more about the challenges and context of creating new jobs in the Arab states.
• The Pitch 2011 England Regional Heats took place this week, you can find out more about the whole event by listening to Mark Prisk (Enterprise Minister) who was talking about the social benefits of supporting SMEs
• iStart.org is a unique online resource that gives student entrepreneurs a chance to to share ideas and gain access to an international network of competitions and mentors. If you’d like to more you only have to read our post about the competition.

By the way, if you have a great idea for a blog post that you would like to share with the Mowgli Foundation and our audience, please do feel free to get in touch and let us know, why not email Linda with your thoughts and suggestions on Linda@mowgli.org.uk.

Featured Entrepreneur

Each week on the website you will find a ‘featured entrepreneur’ at the bottom of every page and this week it is Zayna Hamarneh who takes to the featured spot.  You can find out a little more about Zayna at: http://mowgli.org.uk/4537/zayna-hamarneh-managing-partner-at-mode-marketing-and-pr.html

Events Coming Up

We have a huge number of events coming up in the next couple of months, why not see if you can make one or two and come along to meet some of the Mowgli Team  You can also see all the events on the new website.

• Let’s Get Bristol Business Booming – June 16th, Ashton Gate Stadium
• 15th – 19th June - Middle East Technology Show 2011, Amman, Jordan
• 21st – 24th July - 1st International Conference on “Transforming Conflict:” Sharing Tools for Cross-Cultural Dialogue, Toledo Hotel, Amman, Jordan

Latest Useful Resources

• This set of useful strategic and business planning resources will be helpful for anyone who is getting started with their business.

We are always on the look out for useful resources, both on and off-line and if you have one you find particularly helpful then why not let us know and we’ll add it to our growing database.  http://mowgli.org.uk/about-mowgli/suggest-a-link Over the coming weeks we’ll be looking at ways of making these resources and links even more accessible, but for now they are all listed on our delicious account.

What are we discussing on Linkedin?

“If you had to describe your biggest entrepreneurial or mentoring challenge in one sentence, what would you say? ” Entrepreneurs and mentors face many challenges, but there will often be one that seems to be the one that is the hardest to overcome, I’d be interested to find out what yours was in just a single sentence.

Just how great our entrepreneurs can be was shown when one was chosen as one of the top 30 start-ups to watch in Jordan.  Find out today who else in the Mowgli network was included.

If you’d like to learn more about how one of our groups got on, there is a post in a brand new forum at Startup.jo here: http://startupjo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6&p=7#p7

We also have some fantastic news about two sections on our website that have been under wraps for some time, but have now been unveiled.  Firstly the Skills Centre is finally open to the public.  It’s a great place for our entrepreneurs and mentors to refresh their memory about the subjects that were covered, and it’s also a great resource for anyone interested in mentoring and supporting entrepreneurs.  You can find the Skills Centre within the Knowledge Centre and by clicking the link here: http://mowgli.org.uk/knowledge-centre/skills-centre.  Remember though, this is a work in progress and is still being developed, so check back regularly for more useful and interesting content.

Secondly, our own social network has opened it’s doors too.  We’ve had a trickle of registrants over the last few months despite the fact that there has been nothing for them to see, and now that it’s open we are hoping that more of you will decide to join us in discussion about topics relating to Mentoring and Entrepreneurship.

This network also houses the peer groups for participants in the Mowgli Mentoring Experience and Karl (our Business  Development Director) has created the first three for the most recent programmes already and we’d like to invite all those participants to join up at the website as soon as possible.  You can join the network at: http://mowgli.org.uk/register

Latest Blog Posts

• According to a recent survey by Insala, how you define the measure of success is the No. 1 problem for mentoring programmes.
• Adrian Ashton is a member of our Linkedin Group who has 15 years experience as a mentor, you can read more about his unique take on mentoring in his guest blog post ‘Mentoring – more than 1 way to skin the proverbial cat‘
• Cordelia’s been adding more content to our Skills Centre, this time in the Business Management Skills section.  Why not check out the resources so far.

By the way, if you have a great idea for a blog post that you would like to share with the Mowgli Foundation and our audience, please do feel free to get in touch and let us know, why not email Linda with your thoughts and suggestions on Linda@mowgli.org.uk.

Featured Entrepreneur

Each week on the website you will find a ‘featured entrepreneur’ at the bottom of every page and this week it is Rula Qatami who takes to the featured spot.  You can find out a little more about Rula at: http://mowgli.org.uk/4529/rula-qatami-owner-and-founder-at-nutrimusic.html

Events Coming Up

We have a huge number of events coming up in the next couple of months, why not see if you can make one or two and come along to meet some of the Mowgli Team  You can also see all the events on the new website.

• Let’s Get Bristol Business Booming – June 16th, Ashton Gate Stadium
• 30th – 31st May - Creative Thinking Workshop, Imperial Palace Hotel, Amman, Jordan
• 31st May – Business for Business Exhibition – Weymouth, Dorset
• 31st May – Startup.jo event, Sitat Byout
• 2nd – 3rd June - Arab Telecom & Internet Forum (ATIF 2011) Intercontinental Phoenicia Hotel, Beirut, بيروت LB
• 7th – 9th June - Trading Techniques & Systems in Arab Financial & Stock Markets, Beirut, Lebanon بيروت, بيروت LB
• 9th June - “New” Approach in Money Management-Hit & Run or Buy & Hold? Training, Moevenpick, Hotel Rawche Beirut, بيروت LB
• 15th – 19th June - Middle East Technology Show 2011, Amman, Jordan
• Mowgli Mentoring Experience – July 2011 (South West) tbc
• 21st – 24th July - 1st International Conference on “Transforming Conflict:” Sharing Tools for Cross-Cultural Dialogue, Toledo Hotel, Amman, Jordan

Latest Useful Resources

• Business Link Support and Grant Database – Only for the UK I know, but useful for start-ups and entrepreneurs based in the UK

We are always on the look out for useful resources, both on and off-line and if you have one you find particularly helpful then why not let us know and we’ll add it to our growing database.  http://mowgli.org.uk/about-mowgli/suggest-a-link Over the coming weeks we’ll be looking at ways of making these resources and links even more accessible, but for now they are all listed on our delicious account.

What are we discussing on Linkedin?

“Currently setting up a project in Kenya recycling plastics, empowering youth to run and be part of the organisation.” – Alison Lowndes is setting up a project in Kenya and has posted this as a discussion on our group to see if any of our mentors and entrepreneurs have any ideas about how to take the project forward.  Why not login if you have any things to suggest.

Latest Blog Posts Over the last few weeks and months, Cordelia has been populating our brand new skills centre which we’ll be unveiling very soon.  And to give you a taste of some of the content we are including, I’ve added links to a just a sample of the posts and information you can find.

• Developing Mind-Body Connections through Hatha Yoga
• Body language when presenting: Some quick tips

In addition, we’ve been adding case studies and you may be interested in

• A mentoring case study from Syria – Motaz Hadaya and Levant Tourism Services
• The Mowgli mentoring experience – a mentors perspective

By the way, if you have a great idea for a blog post that you would like to share with the Mowgli Foundation and our audience, please do feel free to get in touch and let us know, why not email Linda with your thoughts and suggestions on Linda@mowgli.org.uk.

Featured Entrepreneur

Each week on the website you will find a ‘featured entrepreneur’ at the bottom of every page and this week it is Wissam Rabadi who takes to the featured spot.  You can find out a little more about Wissam at: http://mowgli.org.uk/1768/wissam-rabadi.html Events Coming Up We have a huge number of events coming up in the next couple of weeks, why not see if you can make one or two and come along to meet some of the Mowgli Team  You can also see all the events on the new website.

• 19-24 May 2011 Jordan
• 24-29 May 2011 Jordan
• 22-27 May 2011 Lebanon
• July 2011 (South West) tbc

Latest Useful Resources

• Useful websites for entrepreneurs – I came across this resource as I was travelling around the web one day and it has such a great list of other resources, I felt I just had to share it.

We are always on the look out for useful resources, both on and off-line and if you have one you find particularly helpful then why not let us know and we’ll add it to our growing database.  http://mowgli.org.uk/about-mowgli/suggest-a-link Over the coming weeks we’ll be looking at ways of making these resources and links even more accessible, but for now they are all listed on our delicious account.

What are we discussing on Linkedin?

“Stop By and Say Hello!” – Our ongoing introduction thread on Linkedin has been re-ignited.  We would love to find out more about the people who are using our group and would really appreciate it if you could stop by and say hello on the discussion of the same name.

You can find out more about them by following the links further down the newsletter.

Latest Blog Posts

• Skoll World Forum (SWF) 2011 – A personal reflection – Tony was invited to join other participants at this years Skoll World Forum and here he shares his own view on the experience.
• Conversations for Action is a technique that can be particularly helpful in managing communications
• The Mowgli mentoring experience – an entrepreneurs perspective if you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to join the Mowgli foundation as either an entrepreneur or a mentor, then this video might help to answer some of your questions.

By the way, if you have a great idea for a blog post that you would like to share with the Mowgli Foundation and our audience, please do feel free to get in touch and let us know, why not email Linda with your thoughts and suggestions on Linda@mowgli.org.uk.

Featured Entrepreneur

Each week on the website you will find a ‘featured entrepreneur’ at the bottom of every page and this week it is Alex Azzi who takes to the featured spot.  You can find out a little more about Alex at: http://mowgli.org.uk/1676/alex-azzi.html

Events Coming Up

We have a huge number of events coming up in the next couple of weeks, why not see if you can make one or two and come along to meet some of the Mowgli Team  You can also see all the events on the new website.

• 19-24 May 2011 Jordan
• 24-29 May 2011 Jordan
• 22-27 May 2011 Lebanon
• June 2011 Syria tbc
• July 2011 (South West) tbc

We’d also like to say a big thank you to Meetdraw for raising money for The Mowgli Foundation at Bournemouth Twestival Local last month.  You can find out more about how it all went on the website.

Latest Useful Resources

• If you’ve ever considered becoming an entrepreneur (or even if you already are one), then the Entrepreneur Roller-coaster will be a familiar ride.

We are always on the look out for useful resources, both on and off-line and if you have one you find particularly helpful then why not let us know and we’ll add it to our growing database.  http://mowgli.org.uk/about-mowgli/suggest-a-link

Over the coming weeks we’ll be looking at ways of making these resources and links even more accessible, but for now they are all listed on our delicious account.

What are we discussing on Linkedin?

“What is the most important thing an entrepreneur should know (or think about) before starting out? We’ve all got hints, tips and advice to give others and I wondered whether you might be kind enough to share your suggestions about the things entrepreneurs should consider before they get started on their big adventure.

Calling all 2009 entrepreneurs!

The Mowgli Foundation is hoping to assess the impact and content of our programmes, and we need your help!

Recently many of you will have recieved an email from us- check your junk mail if you can’t find it! It explains more about why we want to hear your views, and includes a link to the survey on our website.

If you completed the Mowgli programme before 2010, your thoughts and feedback are really important to us, so please help us by visiting http://mowgli.org.uk/mowgli-entrepreneurs-feedback-form as soon as you can! This is your chance to tell us how your mentor supported you and how we could do better for other entrepreneurs like you. Have your say!

Don’t forget, you can receive your own copy of our newsletter directly to your inbox every fortnight by signing up at:http://mowgli.org.uk/about-mowgli/mowgli-newsletter

I’m also really pleased to announce that we now have some more Mowgli Mentoring Experiences planned for Jordan and Lebanon, with more in the pipeline for Syria and the UK.  You can find out more about all of them by following the links further down the newsletter.

Latest Blog Posts

• Managing social unrest by increasing GDP – Tony Bury asks whether the MENA region can expect the same level of growth seen in the Asian economies and whether this can have a positive impact on social unrest.
• Startup Britain Launch Event - David Cameron, Chancellor George Osborne and Enterprise Minister Mark Prisk supported the launch of a private business led initiative to encourage more startup’s in the UK
• How important is entrepreneurship in Europe – at the recent European 2020 Summit, it was agreed that entrepreneurship is one of just three things that the european nations should be doing more of to create the society we want in the future, what do you think?

By the way, if you have a great idea for a blog post that you would like to share with the Mowgli Foundation and our audience, please do feel free to get in touch and let us know, why not email Linda with your thoughts and suggestions on Linda@mowgli.org.uk.

Featured Entrepreneur

Each week on the website you will find a ‘featured entrepreneur’ at the bottom of every page and this week it is Roula Shallah who takes to the featured spot.  You can find out a little more about Roulah and Manific at: http://mowgli.org.uk/2688/roula-shallah.html

Events Coming Up

We have a huge number of events coming up in the next couple of weeks, why not see if you can make one or two and come along to meet some of the Mowgli Team  You can also see all the events on the new website.

• 19-24 May 2011 Jordan
• 24-29 May 2011 Jordan
• 22-27 May 2011 Lebanon
• June 2011 Syria tbc
• July 2011 (South West) tbc

We’d also like to say a big thank you to Meetdraw for raising money for The Mowgli Foundation at Bournemouth Twestival Local last month.  You can find out more about how it all went on the website.

Latest Useful Resources

• Ten things every entrepreneur needs to try – This interesting article is highly relevant and helpful for entrepreneurs the world over.

We are always on the look out for useful resources, both on and off-line and if you have one you find particularly helpful then why not let us know and we’ll add it to our growing database.  http://mowgli.org.uk/about-mowgli/suggest-a-link

Over the coming weeks we’ll be looking at ways of making these resources and links even more accessible, but for now they are all listed on our delicious account.

What are we discussing on Linkedin?

“Communicating on Skype: How can you transfer active listening skills to online comms? Cordelia from Mowgli would be interested to know what the Mowgli community thinks about this, since you are all experienced at using Skype for business and some of you will be mentoring entrepreneurs through the medium of Skype or crackly overseas phone calls .

Calling all 2009 entrepreneurs!

The Mowgli Foundation is hoping to assess the impact and content of our programmes, and we need your help!

Recently many of you will have recieved an email from us- check your junk mail if you can’t find it! It explains more about why we want to hear your views, and includes a link to the survey on our website.

If you completed the Mowgli programme before 2010, your thoughts and feedback are really important to us, so please help us by visiting http://mowgli.org.uk/mowgli-entrepreneurs-feedback-form as soon as you can! This is your chance to tell us how your mentor supported you and how we could do better for other entrepreneurs like you. Have your say!

Don’t forget, you can receive your own copy of our newsletter directly to your inbox every fortnight by signing up at:http://mowgli.org.uk/about-mowgli/mowgli-newsletter

This is change at it’s most potent and forceful.  Lives and livelihoods have been lost and changed beyond all recognition, even the large global multinationals have been impacted with brands like Toyota closing down (temporarily) in Japan.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by any of the current turmoil, whether caused by the natural world or our own sense of order.

I am sure that we will see, in the not too distant future, challenges being faced as well as opportunities. Indeed, one article that we tweeted out today suggested that the wave of revolutions sweeping across the Middle East will result in a boom in entrepreneurship.

Latest Blog Posts

• Mentor Aid for Entrepreneurs – The Mowgli Foundation got an excellent write in The National – an online newspaper.
• Enterprise in the News – Ian McKay offers his take on the latest news from UK politicians that enterprise and entrepreneurship are the only real opportunities we have to create growth.
• Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership – According to Cordelia “what’s needed for ‘sparkle’ in the Greater Manchester LEP are enthusiasts from the world of business, prepared to put themselves forward for the greater enterprising good”.

By the way, if you have a great idea for a blog post that you would like to share with the Mowgli Foundation and our audience, please do feel free to get in touch and let us know, why not email Linda with your thoughts and suggestions on Linda@mowgli.org.uk.

Featured Entrepreneur

Each week on the website you will find a ‘featured entrepreneur’ at the bottom of every page and this week it is Bassam Touma who takes to the featured spot.  You can find out a little more about Bassam and  TIMETEL Consulting at: http://mowgli.org.uk/1682/bassam-touma.html

Events Coming Up

We have a huge number of events coming up in the next couple of weeks, why not see if you can make one or two and come along to meet some of the Mowgli Team  You can also see all the events on the new website.

• 24th March – Bournemouth Twestival …. Mowgli is the Charity of Choice
• 29th March - Mentoring in Critical Times, Keynote Speech at EMCC Conference
• 4th April – WAMDA Webinar – Tony Bury hosts “Behind every successful entrepreneur there’s a great mentor”
• 7th April – Bristol’s Bright Future Conference – Bristol, UK
• 7th April – Bristol’s Bright Future Conference – Bristol, UK

Latest Useful Resources

• The Harvard Business School – resources for MBA students hoping to start their own business.

We are always on the look out for useful resources, both on and off-line and if you have one you find particularly helpful then why not let us know and we’ll add it to our growing database.  http://mowgli.org.uk/about-mowgli/suggest-a-link

Over the coming weeks we’ll be looking at ways of making these resources and links even more accessible, but for now they are all listed on our delicious account.

What are we discussing on Linkedin?

“Why are entrepreneurs so important to our communities and society? In the recent past I came across an interesting statistic which was that the vast majority of jobs in the United States were created within the smallest or organisations rather than within the biggest. This, however, is just one benefit of entrepreneurs on society. There will be many more and I’d be interested to hear what your thoughts and opinions might be.

Calling all 2009 entrepreneurs!

The Mowgli Foundation is hoping to assess the impact and content of our programmes, and we need your help!

Recently many of you will have recieved an email from us- check your junk mail if you can’t find it! It explains more about why we want to hear your views, and includes a link to the survey on our website.

If you completed the Mowgli programme before 2010, your thoughts and feedback are really important to us, so please help us by visiting http://mowgli.org.uk/mowgli-entrepreneurs-feedback-form as soon as you can! This is your chance to tell us how your mentor supported you and how we could do better for other entrepreneurs like you. Have your say!

Don’t forget, you can receive your own copy of our newsletter directly to your inbox every fortnight by signing up at:http://mowgli.org.uk/about-mowgli/mowgli-newsletter