Women Entrepreneurs 3x: The Ripple Effects of Mentorship and Scout’s Breakout Year
Mentor / Entrepreneur Suzan Barbour with Mentee / Entrepreneur Enas Arabiat
Dec 2025 Update Story
In 2024, we introduced readers to Enas and Suzan, a new mentee-mentor match working to help Enas’s e-commerce platform find its footing. One year later, their relationship has deepened and Scout is taking off.
When Jordanian entrepreneur Enas Arabeiat joined Micromentor, Scout — her curated e-commerce platform showcasing local artisans and women-led businesses — was still in its pilot phase. She saw enormous potential in Jordan’s creative and home-based entrepreneurs but knew she needed strategic guidance to scale sustainably. Through Micromentor, she connected with Suzan Barbour, an experienced advisor with decades of experience in strategic management, partnerships, and entrepreneurship support.
What began as a mentoring match quickly grew into a long-term partnership. With Suzan’s guidance, Enas refined Scout’s value proposition, shifting from a broad marketplace to a premium gifting hub that elevates high-quality, locally made products. That clarity unlocked new traction: Scout’s network expanded from 25 to 100 sellers (more than 75% women-led), and the platform doubled its internal team from 7 to 15 staff. Scout also secured multiple grants and partnerships, including support from JOIN Fincubator, GIZ Jordan, Endeavor Jordan, and the Ministry of Digital Economy. In mid-2025, with Suzan’s encouragement, she officially registered in Qatar to prepare for Scout’s upcoming regional expansion.
For Enas, mentorship rewired how she leads. “Asking for help is a strength,” she said. “Suzan listens deeply and asks the right questions. Her support helped me believe more in myself and in Scout’s potential.”
But this is also a story about how mentorship transforms mentors. After leaving a long career in public affairs and business development, Suzan launched her own advisory practice. She volunteers on Micromentor to help her refine her coaching skills. And the experience has done just that, grounding her approach in empathy. Volunteering with Enas confirmed the value of her insights and strengthened her confidence in her advisory work.
It also created a powerful impact loop. Suzan began referring some of her own clients, Jordanian women entrepreneurs, to Scout, helping them improve their market access while expanding Scout’s seller base. What started as one mentoring connection became a chain of women supporting women across the ecosystem:
Suzan mentoring entrepreneurs → entrepreneurs joining Scout → entrepreneurs gaining market access, visibility, and sales through Scout → Scout growing its marketplace → Enas strengthening her business → Suzan offering even stronger support to her clients.
“Seeing my advice help Enas grow made me more committed,” Suzan said. “Mentoring gives me energy — I learn, they learn, and we all move forward.”
Their story demonstrates what Micromentor makes possible:
When women entrepreneurs uplift one another, the impact compounds, accelerating business growth, widening economic opportunity, and strengthening entire ecosystems across the region.
