The Georgia Mentor Protégé Connection (GMPC), the state of Georgia’s premier small business mentoring program, wrapped up its 2018 program on December 6^thwith a graduation ceremony at the Sandy Springs Headquarters of UPS. Initiated by Governor Roy Barnes in 2001 as The Governor’s Mentor Protégé Program, the GMPC was the first state-sponsored mentoring initiative of its kind. It is now administered by the Georgia Education Foundation, the educational arm of the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council (GMSDC). GMPC brings together emerging small business firms and Georgia Corporations for a one-year mentoring relationship designed to help the protégé firm develop capacity, explore new technologies and shore up areas of opportunity, with the ultimate goal of positioning the small business for growth. The 2018 GMPC class, which features 17 mentor-protégé pairings, is the program’s 6^thclass under the helm of the Georgia Education Foundation. 

The GMPC curriculum is a rigorous year with a full calendar of conferences, seminars, training sessions and special events, including periodic gatherings of the entire class for group activities and best practice sharing. The mentoring relationship may focus on any business area of common interest to the mentor-protégé pair, based on a mutually developed action plan that is established at the beginning of the year. The GMPC features many of Georgia’s most prominent brands as mentors - such as UPS, Georgia Power, Cox Enterprises, and AT&T - most of whom return annually to shepherd another protégé through the program. 

To participate in the Georgia Mentor Protégé Connection program or to getting additional information call 404-589-4929 or visit www.georgiampc.org.

The Mentor-Protégé pairs for the 2018 GMPC Class