Mentorship & Support — How to Request and What to Expect

Purpose: How teams request mentors, what mentors will do, and rules for mentor engagement.

🎓 How to Request a Mentor

Step 1: Fill the Mentorship Request Form

Complete the Mentorship Request Form with specific details:

Required information:

Team name and members
Current project stage (research, prototyping, testing, etc.)
Specific help required — Be precise! Examples:
- “Need help integrating mobile money API”
- “Want feedback on our user research approach”
- “Need advice on finding testing sites in Sabon Gari”
- “Stuck on database schema design”

Not helpful: “We need general help” or “We want a mentor”

Step 2: Show Your Work

Mentors prioritize teams that demonstrate:

✅ Evidence of progress (photos, code, prototypes)
✅ Clear next steps (you know what you need to do)
✅ Specific blockers (you can articulate what’s stopping you)

Pro tip: Include links to your dev log or work-in-progress when requesting mentorship.

Step 3: Matching & Scheduling

Matching: Hub team matches you with appropriate mentor within 24-48 hours
Scheduling: Mentor will contact you to schedule 1-hour session
Preparation: You’ll receive a prep checklist before the session

👨‍🏫 What Mentors Provide

During 1-Hour Sessions

Mentors can help with:

Technical guidance:

Code review and architecture advice
Debugging complex problems
Technology selection and trade-offs
Best practices and patterns

Project guidance:

User research methods
Problem framing and scoping
Testing strategies
Presentation and storytelling

Resource connections:

Links to relevant documentation
Introductions to domain experts
Suggestions for testing sites or user groups
References to similar projects

Written Feedback

After sessions, mentors may provide:

Summary of discussion points
Action items and next steps
Links to resources mentioned
Follow-up questions to consider

🚫 What Mentors Do NOT Do

To maintain fairness and learning:

❌ Write code for your team — They’ll guide, but you build
❌ Make decisions for you — They’ll present options, you choose
❌ Guarantee success — They support, but outcomes depend on your work
❌ Provide unlimited time — Sessions are time-boxed to 1 hour
❌ Do your research — They’ll point you in the right direction

Remember: Mentors are guides, not team members. The work is yours.

🎯 Mentor Matching Rules

Priority System

Mentors are allocated based on:

Evidence of work — Teams showing progress get priority
Clear next steps — Teams who know what they need learn more
Specific requests — Targeted questions get better matches
First-time requesters — New teams get priority over repeat requests

Mentor Specializations

Mentors have different expertise areas:

Technical mentors: Backend, frontend, mobile, APIs, databases
Business mentors: Market validation, business models, sustainability
Design mentors: UI/UX, user research, testing methods
Domain mentors: Agriculture, waste management, healthcare, education, etc.

Request the right type based on your current needs.

📝 How to Prepare for a Mentor Session

Before the Session (24 hours prior)

Review your dev log and identify specific questions
Prepare materials to share (code, prototypes, research notes)
Write down your 3 most important questions
Identify what you’ve already tried
Set a clear goal for the session

During the Session

Start with context — Brief project overview (2 minutes max)
Ask specific questions — Don’t wait for mentor to guess
Take notes — Capture advice, resources, action items
Show your work — Demos, screenshots, prototypes
Clarify next steps — Confirm what you’ll do after the session

After the Session

Update your dev log — Document what you learned
Follow through — Complete the action items discussed
Share progress — Update mentor on outcomes (optional but appreciated)

💡 Getting the Most from Mentorship

Good Questions to Ask

✅ Specific and actionable:

“We’re choosing between SMS and WhatsApp for notifications. What trade-offs should we consider?”
“Our users aren’t engaging with the prototype. What testing methods could reveal why?”
“This API call is failing. Here’s the code and error. What am I missing?”

❌ Too vague:

“How do we make our app better?”
“What should we build?”
“Can you look at everything and tell us what’s wrong?”

Describe What You’ve Tried

Good approach:

“We tried X, expected Y, but got Z instead. We’ve looked at A and B resources. We think the issue might be C, but we’re not sure.”

Less helpful:

“It doesn’t work. Can you fix it?”

🔄 Follow-Up Sessions

When to Request Follow-Up

✅ You’ve completed action items from first session
✅ New blockers emerged after implementing advice
✅ You need deeper dive on a complex topic
✅ You’re at a new project stage (e.g., moved from prototype to testing)

When NOT to Request Follow-Up

❌ You haven’t tried the suggestions from first session
❌ You’re asking the same questions without showing progress
❌ You want mentor to do the work for you

Note: Follow-up requests are granted based on availability and demonstrated progress.

👥 Peer Mentorship

Don’t forget your fellow teams!

Team-to-Team Learning

Share learnings in community channels
Organize informal peer review sessions
Exchange feedback on prototypes
Collaborate on common challenges (e.g., consent forms, testing sites)

Benefits:

Faster feedback loops
Build community relationships
Learn from others’ mistakes
Practice explaining your work

📞 Other Support Channels

For Different Types of Help

Technical/Git issues:

💬 Support channel (Telegram/Discord)
👨‍💻 Hub Git operator (Kamal)
📚 Documentation Guide

Project/design questions:

🎓 Formal mentorship (use request form)
👥 Peer feedback (community channel)
📖 Learning Library

Personal/team dynamics:

🤝 Event organizers (private message)
👥 Team retrospectives
🎯 FAQ

✅ Mentorship Checklist

Before requesting a mentor:

Have we tried to solve this ourselves?
Have we checked the Learning Library and FAQ?
Can we articulate our specific question or blocker?
Do we have evidence of our progress to share?
Have we identified what type of mentor we need?

🌟 Mentor Appreciation

Mentors are volunteers giving their time and expertise. Show appreciation by:

Being prepared and respectful of their time
Following through on action items
Sharing outcomes and learnings
Thanking them publicly (with permission) in your submission

Ready to request a mentor? Fill out the Mentorship Request Form with your specific needs.

Not sure what to ask? Review the FAQ or post in the community channel first.