🌍 One Year, Two Continents, One Powerful Mentoring Journey

 

Last week, I graduated from one of the most invaluable professional experiences of my solo consulting journey — the gold-accredited “Mentoring Women in Business” programme by the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women.

Founded by Cherie Blair CBE KC — a barrister, human rights lawyer and tireless advocate for women’s economic empowerment — this programme connects women entrepreneurs in low- and middle-income countries with global mentors who help them grow their businesses and themselves.

🎓 And this was my year of growth.

Over the past 12 months, I had the privilege of being mentored by Ijeoma Ogbechie, EMBA, COO at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (London). A strategic thinker and deeply empathetic leader, she brought something rare — a mix of knowledge, perspective and stability.

• Knowledge: Practical insights, hard-won experience and frameworks I could immediately apply.

• Perspective: A fresh, unbiased way of looking at things — like a mirror that helped me see more clearly.

She quickly became a thought partner — someone I could speak to openly about both business goals and personal doubts.

I’d started three ventures before this. Her mentorship helped this one truly keep going. 🙏

As a former entrepreneur herself — having run Avivere, a boutique brand making African fashion more visible globally — she deeply understood the emotional highs and lows. Her advice in the early months stuck with me:

“Start small. Take the pressure off. Build steadily.”

---

💼 What I Did During This Year

At the start of the programme, I had already set up the basics: a logo, a LinkedIn banner, a booking page and a website on Canva.

Over the year, I:

• Reached out to 800+ SaaS professionals across India (bootstrapped + funded)

• Built 6 strategic partnerships

• Posted consistently on LinkedIn (at least once a week)

• Wrote conversion-focused copy for Topmate, LinkedIn, Website and WhatsApp

• Documented mini-case studies based on past retention work

• Offered internships to support early talent

• Explored tools for research, outreach, and lead generation

• Completed courses via LinkedIn Learning, Product School and others

• Attended webinars, read books on experimentation and growth

• Pivoted from full-stack growth to SaaS retention advisory

• Built a new website using vibe coding on Lovable

---

✨ Some Highlights

• Featured on the Times Square Billboard in New York City via Topmate (twice!)

• Joined WE Hub (Govt. of Telangana) as a mentor

• Won 2nd prize in an affiliate challenge by Scripe

• Won Convert.com’s Weekly Challenge

• Ranked in the Top 0.1% of all professionals and Top 1% return profiles on Topmate

• Named among the Top 10 Engagers in the Convert x Women in Experimentation upskilling challenge

---

🌱 What Made the Mentoring Work

This wasn’t just a feel-good programme. It was well-designed and well-executed. Here’s what made it work for me:

• Pre-matching training that aligned expectations

• SMART goal-setting that gave me clarity and focus

• A bug-free, intuitive mentoring platform

• Prompt support from an efficient and responsive team

The programme’s Gold Accreditation by the European Mentoring and Coaching Council isn’t just a credential. It showed up in every tool, every interaction, every check-in. That level of care and structure created space for real growth.

---

🎯 What’s Next

As I graduate from this incredible programme, I’m entering a new chapter with focus and intention.

I look forward to serving as a SaaS Retention Advisor and Early Career Coach — with the same clarity, empathy and commitment that I was fortunate to receive.

---

💬 Final Thought

To any woman entrepreneur wondering if mentorship is worth it — my answer is yes. The right mentor won’t give you all the answers. But they’ll ask you the right questions. And that changes everything.