Intissar Mersni is native from Ain Soltane in Ghardimaou, a mountainous region known for its green forests in the governorate of Jendouba. In 2016, through the ILO’s program “Decent Work for Youth”, she discovered the world of entrepreneurship and came up with a business idea in beekeeping.
“I was scared to death of bees,” she says, “I was far from thinking that I would become a beekeeper and even the spokesperson for an Agricultural Development Cooperatives (GDA) which brings together the region’s beekeepers.”
At 33 years old and mother of two children, Intissar started her entrepreneurial journey after graduating in languages. With her professional experience in call centers, her sense of communication and above all her strength of persuasion became major assets in the launch and success of the “Assalna” cooperative (GDA). Her strength of character also enabled her to establish herself in a profession mainly held by men. “I come from a region where men are the ones who speak and lead. Despite this I managed to establish myself within the group thanks to my sense of communication and my hard work.”
Intissar’s enthusiasm and ambition quickly made her the driving force and key player of the cooperative, taking on the role of Secretary General. She never misses a meeting with the authorities, an opportunity to train with an association, a donor or to join a program to promote “Assalna” or its 40 members.
“My first success with the cooperative was a project to recycle beeswax into organic candles in 2019, an innovation at that time. I was also part of the Technical Committee of the governorate in charge of social entrepreneurship. Despite my young age, I was chosen to represent the region of Ghardimaou with the ecological candle and the honey-based soap during a mission to Sardinia.”
Back from Italy, Intissar learnt from this mission the need to develop the entrepreneurial skills of each member of the cooperative and to develop their activities, together, around honey and its derivatives. “My vision paid off two years later with a great success for “Assalna”. We worked to certify our products as a brand, thanks to a training for the group’s members in 2019. In 2021, Ghardimaou has finally been chosen by INNORPI and WIPO as a pilot region for the implementation of a collective trademark, along with Brazil and Kenya.”
The support of the project Mashrou3i helped her to create the cooperative’s collective brand and to overcome her fears and uncertainties and to focus on the most important anchor points. “The first strong point was that Mashrou3i allowed me to organize my ideas around my brand certification project. They taught me how to do all the needed research before signing legal or official documents, how to increase my confidence and to improve my ability to present my ideas and convince people.”
Intissar added: “Mashrou3i has also supported us throughout 2021 by helping us to structure our cooperative and our activities. The project’s experts taught us that, in order to succeed, we need to have group interests, group logic and group cohesion. Mashrou3i has helped us to gain confidence and to be sure that we can stay united, negotiate and convince. The last training session was also an opportunity for me to meet many entrepreneurs in other sectors of activity, and to create synergies to enhance the value of Tunisian local products, with the use of wood or pottery in our packaging for example.”
This latest training session was also an opportunity for Intissar to meet social entrepreneurs from the Jendouba region who may want to join the cooperative and be part of the collective brand, which will not only help to promote the products of an entire region but also drive the export of local products.