One-on-One Peer Mentoring
Classroom training can cause information overload for microentrepreneurs, leading program designers to offer individual peer mentorship. However, mentorship impacts frequently fail to persist over time once financial compensation for mentors is discontinued.
Picture this
One-on-one peer mentoring acts like hiring a local driving instructor to sit in the passenger seat instead of taking a classroom driver's education course. While having a veteran guide gives immediate custom advice, the driver often loses momentum and reverts to old habits as soon as the paid instructor stops riding along.
What the evidence says
Female microentrepreneurs in Kenya paired with mentors increased short-term profits by 20%, but these profit gains completely vanished after one year when mentor stipends ended; two additional mentorship studies in Kenya and Ethiopia showed no long-term impact on firm performance.
- Who
- Human microentrepreneurs (new female business owners in Kenya, as well as enterprise owners in Ethiopia across 3 evaluations).
- How
- Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) assessing peer mentoring interventions over short- and long-term horizons.
What to do
Evaluate the long-term sustainability and mentor compensation structure before scaling one-on-one business mentorship programs.
From the source
"In Kenya, new women entrepreneurs who worked with mentors increased their profits by 20 percent, but these effects faded after one year as mentors stopped receiving payments for attending the one-on-ones."
Teaching business skills to support microentrepreneurs.pdf
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