The Royal Bank of Scotland has partnered with online mentoring platform Digital Boost Upskilling to launch a free mentor matchmaking service designed for Scottish women in business.
Known as MentorMatch, the new service is being developed in response to research which has revealed that more than half (53%) of female business owners in Scotland feel that a lack of opportunities to be mentored has prevented them from progressing in their career.
The latest findings follow the Rose Review, conducted by NatWest Group chief executive Alison Rose, which identified that a potential £250bn of new value could be added to the UK economy if women started and scaled new businesses at the same rate as men.
The latest survey - among 455 Scottish business owners, with more than 100 male and 100 female respondents, during March - showed that 82% of women are likely to ask for mentoring support.
Digital Boost analysis indicates that the most in-demand areas of support focus on digital skill development as the top three most common topics of support requested by female founders are business strategy, content creation and strategy, and digital marketing strategy.
However, almost half (47%) of female business leaders feel that mentoring is too formal a process, while another 49% reported that finding the right mentor is too difficult.
Royal Bank MentorMatch is designed to break the formality around mentoring, providing access to personalised guidance tailored to specific business challenges.
The platform will launch during an event taking place at The Haberdashery in Glasgow, hosted by Scottish TV and radio presenter Amy Irons, with a collective of Scotland’s most inspirational entrepreneurs, for a morning of networking.
On the opposite side of the issue, the research also found that current Scottish women business leaders are finding it difficult to view themselves as mentors for others, despite starting and scaling successful organisations.
More than a quarter of female business leaders (29%) have a fear of advising incorrectly, while almost one in five (18%) aren't mentoring due to imposter syndrome.
Judith Cruickshank, chair of the Scotland board at RBS, said: "We are deeply committed to Scotland and its vibrant business community - when one of us succeeds, we all do.
"We recognise the unique challenges that women in Scotland face, and we are determined to be part of the solution, helping to build a more equitable, prosperous, and sustainable future for Scotland."
Karen Licurse, managing director of Digital Boost Upskilling, added: "We know that mentorship has the power to unlock the potential of countless women in business, helping them to grow and ultimately, thrive - but the reality is that old school approaches to mentorship can be outdated and often not suitable to the modern workforce.
"This new platform will reshape what mentoring means to Scotland’s female business community and Royal Bank of Scotland, with its marked experience of supporting women in enterprise, is the perfect partner to make it happen."
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