This young 23-year-old entrepreneur is launching the first hearing aid centre in Gabes

Naoures Ghannouchi is a woman of action and she represents generation Z. A generation open to technology and its progress, ready to work wherever work makes sense. They are multi-identity, resourceful and connected. For them, creating a network is more important than studying to succeed. “Of course, creating a company is hard,” underlines our young entrepreneur, “but despite all the difficulties, the challenge was possible and even feasible thanks to the support of the Mashrou3i project.

It is the strength of character and the lucidity of this young girl who is brilliant in her studies that led her to choose a course in audio prosthesis rather than medicine and to launch her hearing aid practice at only 23 years old.

A few years earlier, in 2020, when the coronavirus crisis was in full swing, Naoures graduated as a specialist in hearing aids. She could not do internships in hearing aid centres in Tunis as she wanted to because of the confinement and returned home to Gabes. But no matter what, her decision was made. She decided to prepare and launch her own project in her home town of Gabes. To do this, she found all the support she needed from the Mashrou3i project coach assigned to the Gabès Business Centre.

“The support of the Mashrou3i expert was decisive not only in the preparation of my project but also in learning how to properly manage my business. He encouraged me to follow all the necessary training to develop my skills as an entrepreneur. He also helped me to work on my business plan and my bank financing file, which was well supported and received the approval of the BTS without any difficulty. The support of the Mashrou3i project was very important for me. Knowing all the administrative details and the best way to manage my project allowed me to overcome my lack of experience in the field.

Naoures is proud of what she has achieved in just one year. “I had the presence of mind to enter a niche market that is almost untouched but requires a lot of attention and professionalism in the southern region where, due to the local culture, patients have very little expectation of a young, female hearing aid practice manager. In one year I have managed to develop a name, a good reputation, a good track record and a loyal clientele.

Naoures regularly receives patients in her office who are referred by the ENTs of the region and who are very happy to find this service in Gabes, avoiding them having to travel to Tunis for a hearing check-up, the fitting of a prosthesis, its maintenance or even the purchase of simple accessories.

Being young and keen on new technologies, Naoures is particularly proud to be able to work with young children who suffer from hearing loss and to offer them digital devices better adapted to their specific needs. She takes special care of her clients, trying to offer a quality service and to keep them loyal.

“Mashrou3i has allowed me to acquire a software that reduces the time I spend on managing my business, and makes it easier for me to regularly monitor my clients and my turnover. I certainly have a facebook page that regularly informs customers in the region. Mashrou3i has also helped me to develop my website which will be a much better information tool for anyone looking for a hearing aid specialist in the region and recognised as such by customers and ENTs.

With the support of Mashrou3i, Naoures is also focusing on future projects. She is already thinking about the possibility of manufacturing moulds to be autonomous and produce her own earmolds, and she is thinking of launching her own laboratory, which would be the first in the Gabès region.