ABLE Mentor is one of the Association of the Bulgarian Leaders and Entrepreneurs (ABLE)’s projects. The primary purpose of the project is to connect students and professionals with students from the upper secondary school classes and create a network where they can share knowledge and experience. Students and mentors will be assigned into teams of one mentor and one student based on common interests. Within three months they will have to develop their own case or project that can be related to entrepreneurship, personal development or social causes. The concept of individual mentoring and building a sustainable relationship of trust between the players in each team is in the essence of ABLE Mentor, while the main goal is to increase the knowledge and skills of the students.

The program started initially in the spring of 2014 in Sofia, and by summertime 2016 five seasons of the project have successfully been carried out. To date, the program has scaled to the total of six cities across the country – Sofia, Varna, Burgas, Kazanlak, Blagoevgrad, Vratsa.

The program takes place two times a year in the periods November to January and March to June.

Participants commit:

• to work together during the 12 weeks the project lasts;
• to participate in the three full-day events, serving as ‘the backbone’ of the program;
• to devote at least eight hours a month to work on their couple’s project.

In addition, mentors and students have the opportunity to participate in a variety of trainings and other events, organized by either ABLE Mentor or ABLE.

The aim of ABLE Council Leaders is to improve sustainably the performance of student councils in Bulgaria. The purpose of the project is to transform the already existing 50 organizations throughout the country into more open and transparent structures that promote entrepreneurship, leadership and active engagement in education, civil society, the start-up ecosystem, and the NGO sector in Bulgaria. In addition, the project promotes active communication and cooperation among student councils, as well as between student councils and other ABLE projects.

The central priority of the team is the organization of an annual National Leadership Forum for student councils, where selected candidates from various student councils would receive a scholarship to participate in intensive trainings. Within three days the participants would develop leadership and managerial skills, improve organizational culture and teamwork, enhance their feeling of responsibility and commitment to the activities of the student council and their classmates. The gathering also sparks inspiration to organize new and joint initiatives. The Forum is designed for thoughtful and active people who would take the future in their own hands and in turn would help their colleagues develop the same skills.