Call for Business Mentor - Breaking Barriers Enterprise Award

The Breaking Barriers Enterprise Award is a new and exciting programme portfolio delivered by the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) for business founders who identify as women or non-binary and/or from a Global Majority background.

The programme aims to address structural barriers and systemic challenges prohibitive to equality of access and opportunity in the West of England's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

We are seeking expressions of interest via quotations for a Business Mentor that has a broad and in-depth knowledge across early-stage innovative start-up support and has significant experience working with founders who are women and/or from the Global Majority and can demonstrate an in-depth knowledge and understanding of structural barriers and systemic challenges that are prohibitive in the entrepreneurial eco-system.

The Business Mentor would work with 10 awardees for the duration of the award. Through one-to-many and one-to-one support, the Business Mentor would deliver group planning sessions, as well as bespoke support and guidance to help participants work through identified business challenges. You would ideally be able to demonstrate your own startup and fundraising experiences.

The business mentor would likely be required to help awardees plan their projects and enable them to make the best use of the award funding. This will include, but is not limited to: • Budget/financial planning for the award • Specific business challenges • Identifying where additional support is required (e.g., IP, legal advice, university input) • End of project reporting (benefits, outcomes, etc)

The Award will run from April to July 2024 and the Business Mentor would be required to participate in regular meetings, reporting on progress to UWE Bristol.

Budget We invite expressions of interest for targeted business mentorship and programme support. Please submit a detailed proposal of your offer as part of this quotation which must include your day rate and the number of days you would be available to deliver on this programme. Please note we require between 5 and 30 days of delivery on this programme and the maximum day rate we would consider is £750 excluding VAT. Your day rate would include payment for reasonable expenses, where agreed up front with UWE Bristol and in line with our current expenses policy.

Payment Payment would be by monthly invoice based on activity agreed and undertaken in that period. The partner would need to be set up as a supplier to UWE Bristol and would be required to provide invoices for their services.

Quotes should cover the following criteria: 1. Relevant experience 2. Value for money demonstrated via a quotation for a headline summary of anticipated delivery 3. Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion 4. Environmental Sustainability

To express your interest, please provide a summary document explaining how you meet the above criteria and listing your areas of expertise to [email protected]