As part of the Start-up Tunisia Regions, 4 start-up beneficiaries from the Mashrou3i program, organized by UNIDO and funded by USAID, the Italian Cooperation and HP Foundation, were crowned winners of the Start-up Tunisia Awards on 4th and 5th October in Gabes and Tozeur.
Start-up Tunisia Regions is a regional event covering all sectors of the Tunisian economy and industry that targets entrepreneurs wishing to start an entrepreneurial career, as well as business leaders wishing to expand their activities and develop their companies.
The event aims to share the culture of entrepreneurship in Tunisian regions, especially among young people, but also to identify the best entrepreneurs, and connect them with partners to facilitate their access to funding and specific support. Organized in the form of an entrepreneurial exhibition and group workshops, young entrepreneurs were able to participate free of charge in the various activities offered, such as access to the exhibition space, workshops and dedicated coaching and consulting spaces.
After two successful first editions in 2015 and 2016, Start Up Tunisia Regions has been organized this year in two regional tours set up in 6 governorates from north to south of Tunisia. The tours were initially held in Sousse, Zaghouan and Kef governorates on May 3rd, 4th and 5th, and ended in the southern regions on 4th, 5th and 6th October in Gabes, Tozeur and Kasserine respectively. Across the regional tours, a competition was held to reward the innovative and competitive spirit of young entrepreneurs and to help them access the ecosystem of entrepreneurship.
In the southern regions almost 300 young entrepreneurs submitted their applications for the competition, and about 100 visitors were registered for the events organized on D-Day, to whom many of them were beneficiaries of HP LIFE training, one of the components of Mashrou3i project.
At the end of the subscriptions in the governorates of Tozeur and Kebili, 15 start-ups were selected for the contest, including 7 Mashrou3i beneficiaries. Among them, the 1st and 3rd prizes of the Start-up Tunisia Awards were awarded to:
- Houssem Ben Ahmed, for his project related to automatic irrigation and digital control of solar panels in Kebili
- Abdelhamid Baira, for its offset and digital printing in Tozeur.
The region of Gabes has not been spared. The Start-up Tunisia Awards was held on October 4th, with awards for 2 start-ups beneficiaries of the Mashrou3i program:
- 1st prize was awarded to Mr Mohamed Ibrahim for the launch of his Coring and Prospecting Company (hydrological and geophysical oil service)
- 2nd prize was awarded to Mr Walid Essaghaier for his workshop of shielding ducts and industrial welding.
The winners of the 3rd edition Start Up Tunisia Awards will be supported by a team of experts in their launch or expansion process and then a financing fund specific to their needs, in order to ensure the long-term success of their project. We wish them a great success for the future, as well as to all our Mashrou3i program beneficiaries!