The European Union, concerned with the level of SME/SMI owners skills, has co-financed multiple projects since the end of 2013 in the framework of the programme Erasmus +, mainly around the SME owners mentoring process:

• 2014-2016: INSIST: www.insist-project.eu First project on intergenerational succession in SME’s transition.
• 2015-2017: TRUST ME www.trust-me-project.eu: This project has allowed working with experts to establish a skill card for the Business Mentor but also to build a mentoring training programme certified in 4 countries.
• 2017-2019: MENTORCERT www.mentorcert.eu The first steps proved that, in all European countries, the Business Mentor job filled a need. To go even further this approach, the European Commission accepted this new project : the implementation of a European certification scheme for Mentors compliant with ISO requirements.
• 2019-2021: INTEREST www.interest-project.eu One of the important fallouts identified in tha above chain of propjects and feedback by SME's was that accountability of the SMEs leaves much to be desired in general and that reporting practices hardly go beyond financial reporting in particular. In fact, more integrated reporting, incorporating the process of integrated thinking, on capabilities (knowledge, competences, skills, experience, etc.) is needed. An overarching medium-term objective of INTEREST is to introduce integrated thinking among European SMEs.

ADINVEST accepted to share its mentoring know-how within a consortium in order to structure this unique training programme at European level.

A number of requirements essential to the Business Mentor job and mentoring practices has emerged:

1. The definition of the Business Mentor job has been the product of a joint discussion between practitioners, universities and professional organizations and has led to a clear definition of the requirements and professional practices in charge to carry out the process,
2. The inclusion of a European multicultural dimension became essential, it is impossible today even for SMEs/SMI to ignore the world or at least Europe regardless of the market size.
3. This new job, the Business Mentor should be accredited at European level to avoid the excesses and guarantee the qualitative evolution of the job.
4. The SME owner should be able to measure the balance between the mentor and his need. Thus, for example, the Mentor should “handle” the tools for change without ever replacing the SME owner by intervening.

In France, talking about the Business Mentor “job” is a real disruption.

The work already done by our academic partners ties in with our convictions:

1. Being a certified mentor, is doing a specific job, focused within the field with defined and experimented methods
2. Beyond the posture, for a real professionalization, the mission should be paid and become a clear proposal from the SME owner.
3. Anglo Saxon examples illustrate that inherent human quality: empathy, active listening, ability to pull back, behaviors to adapt, critical analysis of his own experience, the capacity to adapt to the company and the mentored SME owner. Nevertheless, the technical competences needed cannot be acquired through work experience s is too often believed in our country.

 Presentation of these projects on the ADINVEST-Europe website:

• INTEREST
• MentorCert and Trust-Me projects
• FAME
• INSIST