This hand, it is that of experienced business leaders who offer their skills and their time to guide and inspire new project leaders in business creation. We owe this innovation to ourselves, unique within the national Medef network, at Medef-Réunion which multiplies initiatives to promote entrepreneurship.
Inwards, It's good : the company still needs to go the distance... This is where the Mentorlab comes in. No sponsorship, no advice, this flexible support formula does not even require membership to Medef. His door is open to everyone, when we have a solid project in which we are growing or a newly born company which needs to learn how to operate. Didier Fauchard, president of Medef-Réunion, testifies : “There are two very difficult milestones in the life of a company : the thirty-sixth month and the sixtieth month. It is during this period that business mortality is highest.. We created the Mentorlab for new entrepreneurs who are experts in their specialty but unaware of what will determine the sustainability of their business. : the legal, the social, management, etc. The other reason, it is to fight against the loneliness of the business manager. » Hanni factories, business leader and president of Mentorlab, talks about “removing doubt, because doubt is constantly experienced when you start. » Said differently : “Ceasingly, the business manager must make choices. It's like he's at an intersection wondering where to go : to the left, to the right, in front ? We are here to help him cross the crossroads, so that it does not get stuck at the stop sign. » And there is no shortage of “stops” on the obstacle course of business creation…
From the empirical and the concrete
“With his mentor, neo-entrepreneurs find the empirical, concrete, answers that he will not find in books” summarizes Sandrine Dunand-Roux, general delegate of Medef-Réunion. The Mentorlab is therefore a place for exchanges between experienced volunteer entrepreneurs., who want to transmit, and novices, simple project leaders or already business leaders, competent but lacking knowledge and direction. These exchanges take two forms. Direct meetings, obviously, but also the meetings on the SLACK digital community platform which increase the sharing of information. After three years, 157 new entrepreneurs were supported by a “mentor” from Medef-Réunion “A good number of them completed their project. Others put them to sleep or gave up,” notes Fabrice Hanni.. Which means that, without calling into question the Mentorlab formula, Medef-Réunion now wishes to deepen it by further professionalizing experience sharing. Comment ? Through training to fill the managerial skills gaps of new entrepreneurs, where simple support will not be enough. This will be the next step of the Mentorlab.
Entrepreneurship against unemployment
The Mentorlab is not the only Medef-Réunion initiative to promote business creation. “Les Audacieux” is a program aimed at young people in difficulty and seniors undergoing retraining or looking for work.. They have plans but do not dare or do not know how to implement them. This program locally adapts an idea from a former president of Medef, Pierre Gattaz. It is, by simplifying, six-week intensive training in various fields (personal development, self-confidence, public speaking, plus basic accounting knowledge, management, etc.). For four years, the Audacieux brought together around fifteen participants noted for their motivation each time (sent mainly by Pôle Emploi and Local Missions, program partners). After six weeks, they find themselves facing a jury including bankers… It’s up to them to convince them. Then they can push, if they wish, the door to the Mentorlab for the next phase. Further downstream still, Medef-Réunion implements the educational method of the association “Enterprendre to learn”, which consists of virtually creating a business with young people in order to allow them to touch all aspects of entrepreneurship. There are about fifteen of them, recruited by the local Eastern Mission, currently following her. An introduction that can continue, for the most motivated, among the Dauntless…
