Redesigning the growth accelerator: from business plans to hands-on mentoring
In B.E. 2568, the growth accelerator changed its approach from developing business plans to pairing ventures with expert mentors who work directly on their specific bottlenecks.
Translated from Thai · reviewed by the CF team
In response to challenges in matching ventures with funding sources and gaps in putting plans into practice, which had built up over the first 3 years of the growth accelerator, the programme was completely redesigned in B.E. 2568. It shifted from focusing on business plan development to a more targeted problem-solving approach, bringing in mentors and specialists to work directly on each venture’s bottlenecks, whether in market access, operational systems or financial readiness.
The new approach targets ventures that have already demonstrated their impact and clear growth potential, or have clear market demand but lack operational, financial or marketing capacity or resources. The first round selected alumni who had previously completed the business plan development process but still needed further support to put their plans into practice. 3 ventures were selected based on the clarity of their needs and the availability of mentors in the network whose expertise matched those needs.
After selection, each venture underwent an in-depth needs assessment to define its project goals, expected outcomes and key areas where support was needed. The CF team then selected mentors with expertise that matched each venture’s needs and paired the mentors with the ventures. Each pair entered a structured mentoring process lasting 3 months, with follow-up sessions every two weeks. The CF team facilitated the process throughout to ensure both parties were aligned and tracked progress towards their agreed goals.