TUNISIA – IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is signing memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with two Tunisian start-up accelerators to help unlock the potential of innovative entrepreneurship in the country.

The two startups according to the IFC have a focus on women-led start-ups and creating jobs for young people.

IFC signed the MoUs with Flat6Labs Tunisia, which operates an accelerator program and early-stage investment platform, and Impact Partner Tunisia.

Impact Partner Tunisia supports young start-ups and small medium enterprises (SME) especially those with a strong social impact, creating sustainable jobs for women and young people.

Sérgio Pimenta, IFC Vice President for the Middle East and Africa said: “The early stage is often the most crucial for building and sustaining healthy entrepreneurship, which is vital for creating quality jobs and developing innovative solutions in emerging markets.”

“Today’s agreements will not only help Flat6Labs and Impact Partner Tunisia build capacity, but will ultimately help the start-ups, who will benefit from improved services, mentorship and, potentially, grants.”   

IFC noted that the agreements will help further build the capacity of both accelerators by expanding the scale and increasing the number of entrepreneurs being supported, and by fostering expansion to include more women and more entrepreneurs outside the capital/economic cities.

Yehia Houry, Managing Director at Flat6Labs, said: “Our partnership is a natural result of the collaboration that we have started with IFC.

It is perfectly in line with our strategy aimed at multiplying the entrepreneurial dynamic in Tunisia.

Our objective is not only to support start-ups but also to initiate a new entrepreneurial breath with women and young people from all regions of Tunisia.”

Leila Charfi, President of Impact Partner Tunisia said: “Through programs, we support start-ups and emerging SMEs with high job creation potential, particularly for women and young people.

This partnership with IFC allows us to strengthen the support of these young companies and help them develop and create a lasting impact.” 

The MoUs are being signed as part of the Accelerate4Youth Program, supported with funds from Germany, Norway and the Netherlands.

The program forms part of IFC’s strategy to help boost economic growth in Tunisia through private sector-led job creation and by strengthening the country’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, while promoting social inclusion through increased opportunities for young men and women. 

The agreements follow a US$1 million investment by IFC in September in the Anava Seed Fund, an accelerator and early stage fund managed by Flat6Labs Tunisia, to help support tech entrepreneurs particularly women.