The National Mentoring Matters Awards 2026 will take place on Thursday 12 March in the City of London, bringing together mentors, business leaders and programme partners to celebrate outstanding achievement across the Help to Grow: Management Course. The Government’s flag ship business support programme.
We are incredibly proud to have been one of the delivery partners on the programme since 2022. Over that time we’ve supported and trained more than 3,000 mentors. These awards are testament to their time, energy, commitment and passion for business mentoring.
Each year, the awards recognise mentors who have made a measurable difference to small businesses across the UK. Through structured mentoring, these professionals have supported SME leaders to sharpen strategy, strengthen leadership capability and translate ambition into practical action.
There are ten award categories this year — nine dedicated to mentors and one recognising a participant from the Help to Grow: Management Course — reflecting the breadth of impact delivered across the programme.
Recognising professional impact
At the heart of the awards is a simple but powerful idea: high-quality business mentoring drives business growth.
For many SME leaders, mentoring provides space to think clearly, challenge assumptions and make confident decisions in complex environments. When delivered with structure, accountability and commercial understanding, business mentoring can have a lasting effect on business performance and resilience.
The shortlisted mentors exemplify the standards and professionalism that underpin meaningful business impact.
ABM’s role as judging partner
As the professional body for business mentoring in the UK and one of the delivery partners on the programme, we are proud to serve as a judging partner for the 2026 awards.
Supporting excellence in mentoring aligns closely with ABM’s mission to raise standards, promote ethical practice and champion continuous professional development within the business mentoring community.
Through training pathways, professional accreditation and community support, ABM works to ensure that business mentoring is recognised as a skilled discipline, that combines commercial insight with structured, ethical practice.
Business Mentoring and the UK SME landscape
The Help to Grow: Management Course continues to support SME leaders nationwide, combining academic insight with practical mentoring to accelerate business development.
The awards ceremony provides an important opportunity to highlight the mentors behind this progress — those who contribute time, expertise and professional skill to help business owners grow sustainably.
We congratulate all those shortlisted for the National Mentoring Matters Awards 2026 and look forward to celebrating their achievements in March.
