In December 2025, the first Capacity-Building Workshop of the Mentor Bridge – Paving Paths to Youth Entrepreneurial Success project was held at the Budapest office of Design Terminal. The event marked an important milestone in the development of a structured, cross-border mentorship framework aimed at strengthening youth entrepreneurship.

The workshop brought together entrepreneurs, mentors, and ecosystem stakeholders to collaboratively shape the foundations of the Mentor Bridge model. The day focused not only on sharing experiences, but on producing tangible, practice-based outcomes that will directly inform the project’s next phase.

Participants mapped key challenges that often undermine mentorship processes, including misaligned expectations between mentors and mentees, insufficient onboarding, communication gaps, and the lack of structured follow-up mechanisms. These insights provided a clear evidence base for improving the quality and sustainability of mentorship programs supporting young founders.

Beyond identifying challenges, the group worked toward solutions. The workshop resulted in the collection of three local mentorship best practices, the outline of a preliminary multi-stage mentoring structure, and a set of actionable recommendations covering communication, outreach strategies, and mentor preparation. These outputs will contribute to a scalable model designed to bridge the gap between early-stage entrepreneurial ambition and long-term business development pathways.

The event also created space for dialogue between local and international ecosystem actors, strengthening collaboration between youth organizations and industry representatives – a core objective of the Mentor Bridge initiative.

As the first in a series of capacity-building activities, the Budapest workshop set a strong foundation for the consortium’s work ahead. The results reflect a shared commitment to building a more connected, structured, and impactful mentorship culture for young entrepreneurs across Europe.

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