82% of the self-employment ventures supported remain active
Six months of one-to-one mentoring
In 2026, Autoocupació conducted an impact evaluation study of the mentoring programme for entrepreneurs at risk of social exclusion, delivered between 2022 and 2025 with support from the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy.
The programme aims to help entrepreneurs at risk of social exclusion who have recently become self-employed develop the skills they need to establish sustainable ventures.
Each participating entrepreneur received support from a volunteer with extensive business management experience through in-person or online working sessions over a period of at least six months.
Participants were primarily women, young people under 30, people over 45, people from migrant backgrounds, people who had experienced long-term unemployment, people with disabilities, recipients of minimum income benefits and members of the LGBTI community.
The mentoring approach is:
– Individual: each entrepreneur is supported by a volunteer;
– Holistic: the business and the individual are considered together;
– Non-directive: volunteers encourage reflection, decision-making and autonomy rather than providing answers;
– Transformative: participants are encouraged to develop their skills.
Impact evaluation
Over these four years, 325 self-employment ventures launched by 387 people at risk of social exclusion received support from 292 volunteers across 32 provinces in 17 autonomous communities.
As of 30 September 2026, 267 of the 325 ventures supported were still active, representing a survival rate of 82%.
This figure measures the long-term continuity of the businesses and confirms that mentoring helps participating entrepreneurs develop the skills needed to manage them successfully, sustaining their businesses and their jobs, which in most cases provide their only source of income.
Moreover, 84% of entrepreneurs say that mentoring has significantly improved their management skills, while 78% report a significant improvement in their business performance.
Participants highlight three main changes:
– Self-confidence and motivation. “Developing a more reflective mindset focused on continuous learning, increasing my confidence as a professional and handling difficult situations better.”
– Organisation and business vision. “It has helped me develop a clearer vision for my business and organise my work schedule.”
– Business results. “It has helped me adopt a different, more positive attitude towards my business, and this has had a direct impact on sales.”
The programme has also had an impact on volunteers: 83% say it has helped them improve their non-directive mentoring skills.
Some volunteers describe their experience as follows:
• “The emotional and personal support they receive through mentoring gives them the reassurance and confidence they need.”
• “I gave them tools to make better professional, personal and financial decisions.”
• “Discussing the participant’s ideas and uncertainties and sharing my personal experience has been a great help to them.”
Support from the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy
This outcome has been made possible by financial support from the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy through its annual calls for grants for activities promoting self-employment, administered by the Directorate-General for Self-Employment (formerly the Directorate-General for Self-Employment, Social Economy and Corporate Social Responsibility).
