From Tunis to Casablanca, Safir brings together incubators and young entrepreneurs

At the start of May, in Tunis, Lab’ess, the Tunisian incubator for projects with a social and environmental impact, brought together the members of the Safir consortium and representatives of innovative entrepreneurship support structures (SAEI).

The sessions were shaped by discussions on SAEI accomplishments under the Safir programme, a reflection session on social entrepreneurship in the region and its particular features, research for regional synergies and dynamics, and visits, such as to The Dot, the first digital innovation hub in Tunisia.

Original immersive experience

A “Tunisian Safir Entrepreneurs” evening, organised with support from the Tunisian Al Badil incubator in the Beït Al-Hikma in Carthage, gave the six young entrepreneurs from Tunisia, who are beneficiaries of the accelerator programme, the opportunity to present their projects to the public through a unique immersive experience.

Alongside this event, members of the Safir consortium met to set up a steering committee in order to take stock of the actions carried out, monitor the outcome indicators, and recap on the timelines for the next activities, including the conference that will bring together all beneficiaries in Paris in November 2023.

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Debates and pitches at the Social Entrepreneurship Forum

From 29 to 31 May 2023, the 40 entrepreneurs who benefited from a subsidy as part of the acceleration programme and the SAEIs came together in Casablanca for the Social Entrepreneurship Forum, steered by the Institut français, which entrusted the organisational aspects of the event to ImpactLab. The forum session, which was open to the public, included debates and open discussions on the following topics:
• Innovative entrepreneurship, a tool for socioeconomic development
• How to increase the visibility and credibility of social entrepreneurs in the region?
• What are the potential collaborations between large companies and social enterprises?
• Financing social entrepreneurship: challenges and opportunities
• Social entrepreneurship in universities

Pitch sessions took place throughout the day. Each project owner had one minute to present their initiative, and was then given an individual space at the end of the day to meet anyone wanting to learn more about their activities. The previous day included pitch preparation workshops run by an actor and director, which gave the project owners an opportunity to rehearse and benefit from advice to improve the quality of their presentations.