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Mentoring provides a truly individual experience for each Artemis fellow, ensuring that the knowledge and support given during their two weeks on the Thunderbird campus is extended after they return to Afghanistan. Mentors selected for Project Artemis will be paired with an Afghan woman who either owns her own business, or is planning to do so.

Project Artemis Mentoring

Project Artemis is a unique program that trains Afghan women entrepreneurs in business skills. Mentorship is a crucial component of Artemis, ensuring each fellow receives individual attention and has an advocate to support them in the future.

Up to twenty women from Afghanistan who are either currently running a business or intend to start a business in Afghanistan will be selected for full scholarships to the program, which will be held at the Thunderbird campus in Phoenix, Arizona, from October 18th to 29th, 2010. The participants will be selected on the basis of their experience, their demonstrated business knowledge, and the strength of their business idea.

About the Artemis Mentoring Program

Artemis Mentors are carefully matched with their Artemis “fellows” to best suit the needs of each Afghan woman. Mentors need to have a combination of strong experience and the ability to give time to the program and their mentee. While it is impossible to anticipate the exact needs of the women prior to the selection of fellows, in the past women with experience in retail, service professions, manufacturing, marketing, and human resources are often good mentor candidates.

Mentors make a commitment to their mentees for two years, pledging to work together to help the Afghan businesswomen start and/or grow their businesses. Mentoring relationships can be anything from a casual friendship/sounding board, to a more formalized advisor who can help with business planning and strategy. While each relationship is different, we have found that mentors typically spend between five and ten hours per month on the relationship with their Artemis fellow.

At minimum, mentors are required to:

  • Join their fellow for the last three days of their training (October 27th through 29th) at the Thunderbird campus in Glendale, AZ.
  • Participate in conversations via e-mail or the phone with their assigned mentee.
  • Keep in touch on a regular basis with their mentee, usually via e-mail.
  • Participate in quarterly conference calls for the Artemis mentors with the Thunderbird for Good team.
  • Spend a reasonable amount of time learning about Afghanistan and the Afghan culture
    • A cultural orientation will be held at the Thunderbird campus prior to the program, which mentors are invited to attend in person. If you are unable to attend this session, a cultural orientation guide or video of the orientation session will be made available to the mentors online.
    • In addition, the library at Thunderbird has a wealth of information on Afghanistan. Mentors will be given access to the Thunderbird library’s Afghanistan resource page prior to the program in October to assist them in their preparation for this experience.

For more information on qualifications and specific questions, download the Mentoring FAQ’s sheet.

How to Apply

Businesswomen interested in being an Artemis mentor must submit the attached application filled out in full, and a resume. Applications must be received no later than JULY 30th, 2010 (please note that this is an extended deadline). Based on the needs of each Artemis fellow, mentors will be matched and offered mentorship by mid-August.

Download the 2010 Project Artemis Mentor Application.

Applications can be submitted either:

  1. By e-mail to: projectartemis@thunderbird.edu.
  2. By fax to: 001-602-843-6143, Attention: PROJECT ARTEMIS.
  3. By mail to: Thunderbird School of Global Management, Attention: PROJECT ARTEMIS, 1 Global Place, Glendale, AZ 85306, USA

FOR MORE INFORMATION: E-mail projectartemis@thunderbird.edu.