Duo Mentoring Programme

As Mentors and Mentees are not from the same company, an open and confidential dialogue is possible. 

As our flagship programme, the DUO Mentoring Programme is a long-term mentoring commitment of 1 meeting per month for a period of 6 to 12-months, enabling a solid foundation for professional advancement. The duration of this programme will manifest milestones with regards to the company strategy and/or major challenges. Open to Startups, Entrepreneurs or SME representatives with a minimum of 1 year existing business.

This is a free program, relying on volunteer Mentors, business leaders and senior executives who are experienced and knowledgeable about Quebec who volunteered to give their time and provide advice to SMEs and Entrepreneurs. French.

It is specified that the engagement of Mentors is made on a personal basis (and not on behalf of their company) and that the success of the process is based on trust, respect, and confidentiality.

At the end of these 6 months, the Mentee will be asked to write some notes in the form of feedback to help us evaluate and optimize this program.

This programme is open to any member of the CCIFC who is an entrepreneur, startup incorporated in Canada or a representative of a SME. Each application will first be examined by the French Chamber to find the most suitable mentor to match the applicant's needs. Following which, the Mentee will be contacted by the suggested Mentor to align on the expectations before the programme starts.

We ensure confidentiality of all parties, and will only release testimonials upon approval by parties.

Interested candidates in the Mentoring Programme can apply by filling in the form below.

This program is open to CCIFC members who meet the following criteria:

• French entrepreneur with proof of at least 1 year of activity of their company in Quebec,
• Representative of a subsidiary of French SMEs wishing to accelerate its development in Quebec.

Any candidate for the Mentoring Program must complete the questionnaire “Duo Mentoring Programme subscription form” shown above.

Then, the CCIFC will study the request in order to offer the candidate one or two mentors appearing to correspond to the expressed need. The future mentor will be able to contact for a first meeting and continue if there is an affinity.

This Mentoring program does not in any way engage the responsibility of the CCIFC and naturally of the Mentors in any capacity whatsoever.
Mentor and Mentee undertake to maintain the confidentiality of their discussions.

Mentoring is based on a supervised and confidential approach. The Mentor accompanies and questions the Mentee in order to validate his business decisions in order to allow him to see further and differently, without telling him what to do.
It is therefore for the Mentee to benefit from the experience of an experienced person, motivated to share his knowledge and experience in the area.

Benefits for the Mentee :

• Openly discuss of your reality with an experienced business man / woman,
• Benefit from an external and neutral perspective on your company,
• Define and clarify its objectives,
• Take a step back for better decision-making,
• Break his isolation,
• To feel supported and encouraged,
• Expand your network and benefit from contacts in the area.

Whether the mentor's contribution is tactical, practical or strategic, in all cases, the relationship between a Mentor and his Mentee is one-on-one, where the exchange of views is private and sometimes confidential. However, by benefiting from the support of a specific mentor, an entrepreneur also benefits, through his mentor, from the support of the entire group of mentors and their networks.

The conditions for success:

• Voluntarily engage and engage with each other,
• Desire to walk in his role as a person and as an entrepreneur,
• Be transparent and frank,
• Wanting to learn and develop your entrepreneurial skills,
• Demonstrate openness to your mentor and ideas,
• Wanting to discuss and accept to be "challenged",
• Respect the confidentiality of exchanges.

A mentor is not a free consultant and at no time, does not do the retail work that an entrepreneur is entitled to expect from service providers. The relationship between Mentor and Mentee is fundamentally personal, where everyone can express themselves freely.

Here is how the mentors of the program see themselves :

• A sounding board and an advisor : for example, an entrepreneur presents his ideas for setting up in Indonesia. The mentor tests the entrepreneur on the assumptions of their plan and empowers them to refine their methodology and goals by playing devil's advocate and offering suggestions.
• A disinterested observer who helps the entrepreneur to keep a sense of perspective : an entrepreneur often feels lonely when he realizes that he cannot, and sometimes should not, communicate his concerns to his investors, colleagues or partners. A mentor is the neutral yet caring person with whom the mentee can talk frankly, which often helps them put their problems in perspective and find solutions.
• A platform for discussion : opening an office or a subsidiary presupposes the ability to quantify choices, compare options, assess people and situations. The mentor provides assessment criteria and, through his remarks or questions, can direct the entrepreneur to investors, collaborators and service providers (lawyers, accounting firms, PR / marketing, etc.) adapted to his business. and its objectives.
• A compass and, to a certain extent, a guide : when a Frenchman arrives in Quebec full of enthusiasm, he does not always have a very precise notion of the cultural differences and professional habits that distinguish North America from the United States. 'Europe. The mentor, through his field experience, can provide benchmarks accelerating the entrepreneur's adaptation to the data of his new environment.

The mentor is therefore an accompanist who :

• Listen and ask,
• Share his/hers experience, his/hers life,
• Support the entrepreneur in finding his/hers own solutions,
• Help to break his/hers isolation,
• Discuss, validate and share his/hers critical sense, help to reframe the problems experienced,
• Healthy confrontation with ideas, "challenge" and push to action.

A mentor is a volunteer.

No benefits, rewards or financial compensation should be accepted in return for the mentorship.