After a regional tour for nearly a year with young start-ups, the organizing team of Unleash Tunisia Venture Bus crowned the most innovative and promising entrepreneurs on Friday October, 6th. Among them was Abbess Ksiksi, founder of 3DPROTOSKI, one of the first 3D printers in Tunisia, and a beneficiary of the Mashrou3i program.
After graduating from the National School of Engineering in Tunis (ENIT) at 23-years-old, Abbess decided to return to his hometown of Medenine in 2015 in order to launch his project: a 3D printing business that will provide hospitals and clinics in prostheses with an alternative to plaster for fractures. Thanks to the support of the Mashrou3i program organized by UNIDO and financed by USAID, the Italian Cooperation and HP Foundation, Abbes succeeded in developing his business plan in a few months with the support of HP LIFE training. He also gained access to funds and new sales and marketing skills, through technical assistance from UNIDO experts in order to successfully launch his business in Medenine.
Unleash Tunisia Venture Bus is a non-profit project launched by the Young Leaders Entrepreneurs Association, supported and funded by the Middle East Partners Initiative (MEPI). The project was carried out for a year during which a training team traveled by bus to 5 major regions of the country to meet the entrepreneurs of tomorrow and provide them with counseling and free training in entrepreneurship. The project has similar objectives to Mashrou3i, with the aim of promoting the employability of young people and spreading the entrepreneurial culture in Tunisia.
At the end of this tour, over 150 participants have received training in entrepreneurship in nearly 17 governorates. Among them, a dozen entrepreneurs were selected to participate in the closing ceremony of the tour, held on Friday, October 6th at the Acropolium of Carthage, in the presence of beneficiaries, donors and partners of the event.
This year, the Mashrou3i program was pleased to support this cause by being one of the sponsors of the event, and in particular of 2nd and 3rd prizes. At the end of the ceremony and following the presentation of their ideas, 3 winners were crowned the most innovative and promising projects of the tour according to a jury of professionals from the Tunisian world of entrepreneurship. The first two winners of the competition each won financial support of 1,000 TND to help them in the launch and the continuity of their projects. We wish the winners success in the realization of their project and all the best to the organizing team of the Young Leaders Entrepreneurs.
