Championing Entrepreneurs Everywhere: MicroMentor

In celebration of our partners and the great work they do to advance economic progress for all, we interviewed some of our Nasdaq Foundation quarterly grant recipients about their roles, backgrounds and the importance of their work. We spoke with Tatiana Perez-Petrone, Senior Director of Programs & Innovations of Micromentor, on its mission to connect mentors and entrepreneurs from all over the world to help small businesses thrive.

Tell us about MicroMentor. What is its core mission?

Our mission is simple, at its core, Micromentor was built to increase economic opportunity for under-resourced entrepreneurs, especially women, around the world through business mentoring.

Why is MicroMentor’s mission so important?

Our global economy relies on the success of small businesses, yet systemic and geographic barriers leave so many micro and small entrepreneurs, especially women, to shoulder the risk and burden of running a business alone.

Financial capital is not enough for entrepreneurs to succeed. Time and again, research and entrepreneurs themselves share that business advice - like mentoring - is a critical element in helping them utilize that capital and navigate the nuanced challenges of running a business. Research also shows that with that advice, they are significantly more likely to achieve better business outcomes like improved skills, access to networks, increased revenue and job creation.

But running a mentoring initiative that can reach a diverse community of under-resourced entrepreneurs at scale, can be difficult and expensive.

Micromentor mobilizes a global pool of volunteer business professionals to be mentors and uses our platform and matching technology to eliminate geographical barriers, and create efficiencies so that entrepreneurs and mentors can connect easily, form mentoring relationships and solve business challenges together. Since its inception in 2008, over 370,000 entrepreneurs and 110,000 mentors have joined the platform, creating an estimated 120,000 jobs in local communities around the world.

Furthermore, the virtual nature of Micromentor, and nimble technology, allows it to be easily integrated alongside partners offering services to entrepreneurs, like financial institutions and governments - allowing this critical resource to scale its impact.

What impact are you hoping the Nasdaq Foundation’s Quarterly Grant will have on your programming’s success?

In Mexico, the entrepreneurial ecosystem can be particularly difficult to navigate, especially for women - who tend to own micro businesses in the informal sector and face outsized responsibilities for unpaid family care and domestic work. Yet, mentored women entrepreneurs on Micromentor see nearly double the improvement in access to networks and markets than their male counterparts, pointing toward the outsized impact of business mentoring for women. With Nasdaq Foundation’s funding, we will provide mentoring to 10,000 women entrepreneurs in Mexico alongside financial services via our partnerships with financial institutions in the country. This will provide a doubly powerful boost for women entrepreneurs and the communities around them.

Can you share one or two stories that illustrate the impact of MicroMentor?

María's journey is a powerful testament to the impact of mentorship. Inspired by her passion for Mexican cuisine, she opened a restaurant in Puebla 18 years ago, making it a beloved extension of her identity. However, the pandemic dealt a severe blow to her business, leading to a drastic drop in sales and shaking her confidence. As a woman entrepreneur in Mexico, María faced additional societal challenges, with traditional gender roles limiting opportunities and fueling her self-doubt.

Feeling isolated and overwhelmed, María turned to Micromentor after an invitation from Finsus Bank. There, she found a supportive community and mentors who not only provided practical business advice but also emotional encouragement. Mentors like Guillermo helped her leverage her restaurant’s unique identity, while another mentor, Alejandro, introduced creative strategies to enhance customer loyalty. This guidance renewed her confidence, allowing her to focus on her strengths and rediscover her passion.

With this newfound support, María is now exploring online expansion and plans to write a book on Mexican cuisine. Her story showcases how mentorship can transform obstacles into opportunities, proving that with the right support, women can thrive as leaders and entrepreneurs.

What's on the horizon in 2025 for MicroMentor?

Micromentor is very excited to be launching its first ever mobile app, with the release of its new 3.0 platform. This new technology was specifically designed with low-bandwidth users in mind, especially women entrepreneurs, and we are very excited to be rolling it out in our geographies and with partners in the coming year.

Additionally, we hope to build on our partnership with financial service organizations to improve the combination of mentoring alongside funding for entrepreneurs. Foundations like Nasdaq that specifically support economic mobility and financial inclusion for underserved groups like women entrepreneurs, will be key to help us and others move the needle for entrepreneurs around the world.