What is the name of your organization?
MENTEE
What is the name of your solution?
Remote Access to Opportunity
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
MENTEE empowers individuals in crisis situations with access to mentorship, learning, & opportunities via a mentee-focussed, tech-driven ecosystem.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Chicago, IL, USA
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
USA
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
MENTEE addresses the global lack of access to individuals in crisis of violence, war, poverty, gender, climate change. An estimated 1.8 billion young people globally face barriers to education, employment, and personal development due to inequitable access to quality mentorship and support systems (UNESCO, 2023). Traditional mentorship models are short-term, location-bound, and reinforce systemic inequalities by privileging those with existing networks, education, or resources.
MENTEE tackles this by leveraging technology to dismantle these barriers, offering a globally accessible digital platform where mentees are trained, choose their mentors, build lifelong support networks, and access holistic growth opportunities—academic, professional, language, and personal. With users engaging with content translated into five languages, collectively 33 different languages spoken, and with our users residing in 73 different countries, our platform is intentionally built to address geographic, linguistic, and socioeconomic challenges.
Key contributing factors MENTEE addresses include the digital divide, exclusion from certified/accredited global learning and professional access and opportunities, and the lack of culturally relevant, sustained mentorship and support. By placing agency in the hands of the mentee and using inclusive technology to scale impact, MENTEE directly confronts global inequities and creates opportunity for those in need of lifelong support.
What is your solution?
MENTEE redefines crisis support. Most programs limit access by geography and layered requirements, but MENTEE offers a LinkedIn-like digital mentorship platform wrapped in a robust ecosystem for disadvantaged individuals. This isn’t matching; this remote tech solution empowers the mentees with the reins to select their own global mentors in "Circles of Mentorship" to support academic, professional & personal growth. MENTEE’s empowerment model trains our mentees and mentors thanks to easily accessed training modules on our platform. Additionally, we understand mentees' lives are full of challenge and created accommodations that could only be achieved through our nimble platform that allows for mentee choice. From the ability to look through mentor profiles and their one-minute videos that showcase personality, to interactive calendars offering selectable days and times, to video messaging rooms accessible to both mentor and mentee, and a peer-to-peer gallery that connects mentees and fosters community, we’ve built a unique, tech-driven access solution designed to meet the urgent need for guidance, education, and work in crisis zones. Beyond global mentorship on our one-of-a-kind platform, MENTEE offers access to fellowships, certifications, remote internships to work, & monthly mental health sessions - problems solved remotely, using our nimble technology.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
MENTEE serves people 18 and older in crisis (crisis of violence, war, gender discrimination, poverty, climate change pressures, and more) who are students, professionals, aspiring entrepreneurs and who lack access to support, education, and work. These individuals are navigating complex barriers, including forced displacement, economic hardship, systemic exclusion, or geographic isolation, which limit their ability to access guidance, support, and growth opportunities.
Conventional mentorship models overlook people like those in our community, are not ecosystems of support, and do not think long-term. MENTEE addresses this inequity by offering a multilingual, mobile-responsive platform delivering access to support, learning, and opportunity remotely. Mentees self-select mentors, access long-term support, build community, and choose opportunities regardless of location, language, or socioeconomic background.
For mentees, the platform provides personalized academic, professional, and personal development—helping them gain confidence, skills, and access to new opportunities. For mentors, it offers a meaningful way to give back, share expertise, and grow as connected humans.
MENTEE ultimately empowers individuals to take charge of their journeys, build global networks, and improve their life trajectory. By democratizing access to support, learning, and opportunity through scalable technology, MENTEE transforms how communities without access can break down systemic barriers and foster lifelong growth.