Mentor Arabia

What Mentor Arabia does

Mentor Arabia is a regional non-governmental, non-profit organization founded in Dubai in 2006 in response to the 2004 Arab and International Scientific Forum, with its headquarters now located at Aresco Palace, Hamra, Beirut, Lebanon. It operates as the Arab-world regional branch of Mentor International (a Stockholm-based NGO founded in 1994 under Queen Silvia of Sweden's presidency), governed by a Board of Trustees chaired by HRH Prince Turki bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and led by Executive Director Thuraya Ismail Al-Ansari. Its mission is to empower Arab children and youth to prevent risky behaviors and promote healthy lifestyles through capacity development, awareness campaigns, knowledge dissemination, and strategic partnerships across 22 Arab countries.

The organization delivers a portfolio of approximately 15 programs spanning drug and substance-abuse prevention (Building Blocks for a Healthy Future, R.E.A.D.Y., R.E.A.D.Y. To Overcome, Unplugged, Unplugged Plus, 4z), youth capacity building and life-skills development (Youth Academy, Youth Peer Mentors, Youth Peer Educators, Career Inspiration, Career Experience, Together, Empowered Social Workers), and digital engagement via the Mentor Connects mobile application, which connects mentees with professional mentors across the MENA region through structured 6-12 virtual 60-minute sessions over 3-6 months. Two flagship initiatives anchor public-facing brand activity: the Youth Social Entrepreneurs Award (since 2016) and the Youth Empowerment Films and Songs Competition (since 2017). Technology consists primarily of the Mentor Connects app for mentor-mentee matching and session delivery; no public API, SDK, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed.

As a non-profit, Mentor Arabia generates no commercial revenue. It is funded through donor support, strategic partnerships with 80 entities across government, civil society, and international organizations, and initiative collaborations. Its distribution model relies on partner-led delivery through NGOs, ministries of education, schools, and civil society organizations. Cumulative reach is reported at 6 million youth empowered globally and 1 million regionally, with approximately 200,000 yearly beneficiaries across prevention, life-skills, and career programs.

Name

Mentor Arabia

Legal name

Mentor Arabia

Website

https://mentorarabia.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Mentor Arabia is a regional non-governmental, non-profit organization founded in 2006, serving as the Arab-world branch of Mentor International to empower youth across 22 Arab countries through prevention, life-skills, and career programs, supported by 80 strategic partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Development Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK), Peer Support, Mentoring & Student Leadership (SEL) (EDAKAMAO)

Keywords

• Youth empowerment programs
• Substance abuse prevention
• Youth mentorship services
• Life skills training
• Mental health awareness

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Mentor Arabia is a regional non-governmental, non-profit organization that delivers a portfolio of 15 youth empowerment programs and 2 flagship initiatives across 22 Arab countries. Its offerings focus on preventing risky behaviors such as substance abuse, building life skills, supporting mental health, providing career guidance, and empowering youth through evidence-based prevention programs, peer mentoring, capacity development for social workers and parents, and a digital mentorship app (Mentor Connects).

Product overview

Mentor Arabia is a regional non-governmental organization offering a portfolio of 15 youth empowerment programs and 2 signature initiatives. The core programs include prevention-focused initiatives (Building Blocks, Unplugged, R.E.A.D.Y.), youth capacity-building offerings (Youth Academy, Career Inspiration/Experience, Youth Peer Mentors/Educators), and the digital Mentor Connects app for virtual mentorship. The organization complements its program portfolio with two flagship initiatives: the annual Youth Empowerment Films and Songs Competition celebrating young artistic talent, and the Youth Social Entrepreneurs Award recognizing social innovation. Together, these offerings form a comprehensive ecosystem addressing youth wellbeing, prevention, skills development, and creative expression across 22 Arab countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mentor Connects: A smartphone mentoring application designed to connect mentees with professional mentors from various fields in the Middle East and North Africa.

Products and services

• Building Blocks for a Healthy Future

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Big Brothers Big Sisters: One of the world's largest youth mentoring nonprofits, operating structured one-to-one mentoring programs for at-risk youth. Comparable in mission, mentee/mentor matching model, and nonprofit funding structure.
• Education for Employment (EFE): Nonprofit that connects MENA youth to employment through training and employer partnerships. Overlaps on the Career Inspiration/Career Experience programs and the youth-workforce-development thesis.
• Injaz Al-Arab: Regional NGO operating across multiple Arab countries delivering youth entrepreneurship, work-readiness, and financial literacy programs. Directly comparable in mission, regional multi-country operating model, and youth capacity-building focus.
• Mentor International: The global parent organization of Mentor Arabia, founded in 1994 under Queen Silvia of Sweden. Operates the same evidence-based youth prevention/mentoring model across multiple regions, making it the closest direct peer and umbrella network.
• MENTOR (National Mentoring Partnership): US-based nonprofit that advances youth mentoring through advocacy, research, and program support to local affiliates. Peer in mission (mentoring as prevention) and policy/advocacy approach.

Broad incumbents

• UNICEF MENA Regional Office: UN agency delivering child and youth wellbeing programming across the same 22 Arab countries. Overlaps on adolescent health, life-skills curricula, and school-based delivery, but at far greater scale and breadth.
• Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development: Pan-Arab development institution funding social and human-development projects across the same 22 countries. Comparable geographic scope and a potential funding counterpart for Mentor Arabia's regional programs.
• UNODC Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa: Leads the UN's drug-use prevention and standards-setting mandate that underpins Mentor Arabia's Unplugged and INEP Plus programs; a key institutional counterpart and co-funding partner for evidence-based prevention in MENA.

Regional players

• Qatar Foundation International: Qatar-based nonprofit funding youth education and leadership programs across the Arab world and globally. Comparable funder/network-builder role and regional scope, with overlap on youth leadership initiatives.
• Noor Dubai Foundation: UAE-headquartered nonprofit delivering social and health programs in the Arab region. Comparable in Gulf-based philanthropic model, regional program delivery, and reliance on strategic partnerships.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/mentorarabia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mentorarabia
• Instagraminstagram.com/mentorarabia
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCdppGqeAi0Zc0a5Rc5lJP8w

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mentor Arabia