These 6 Tunisian Startups Just Graduated from Flat6Labs Tunis

From fashion e-commerce platforms to agri-food mobile systems, six new startups gear up to break new ground in Tunisia, as they participate in Flat6Labs Tunis' first ever Demo Day. In its very first Demo Day in the Tunisian capital, held at the Bardo Museum, the regional accelerator graduated startups from a diverse range of industries, encompassing innovative products and services in e-commerce, aeronautics, digital sales management, transportation, food and energy.

The Demo Day is an opportunity for the graduating startup companies to showcase their product, traction and vision to a select audience of investors, supporters, and press, as well as network and build their business connections. “We’re thrilled to mark the successful graduation of Flat6Labs Tunis’ first batch of ambitious and innovative Tunisian entrepreneurs” said Ramez El-Serafy, CEO of Flat6Labs. “We’re very proud that through the unique Flat6Labs Tunis program and with our close partnership with Meninx, TAEF and BIAT we were able to funnel our very first six high-growth potential startups to the Tunisian entrepreneurial ecosystem with hundreds more to come,” he added.

1. Dabchy, a fashion marketplace for second-hand clothing which operates as a trusted third-party between buyers and sellers, dubbed “Tunisia’s Tinder of fashion.” The startup operates across Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria, allowing users to sell and buy high-end second-hand clothes online. 

2. Echo, a startup that focuses on digitizing and streamlining aircraft cabin design offering seamless reconfiguration and certification for the aeronautical industry.

3. GST, whose founders developed a mobile management system allowing companies in the Agri-food Industry to share information in real-time, with their sales forces working outside the office.

4. Naviacom, a machine-to-machine connectivity provider, offering hardware and software solutions for both the automotive and telematics sectors.

5. Vynd, a community platform that allows restaurants to increase their visibility, deepen the interaction with their clients, attract more customers, and increase revenues.

6. Wattnow, a startup that focuses on businesses and home-owners, helping them visualise their electricity consumption in real-time and identify wasteful trends to help reduce their energy bills.

The event was the largest gathering of both local and foreign tech-focused investors in Tunisia, which gathered private sector investment funds such as AfricInvest, UGFS, Malaz Capital (Saudi), Evolia Capital Holding, Diva Sicar and Carthage Business Angels, as well as senior members of banking institutions such as BIAT Capital Risk, Amen Capital, UBCI/BNP Paribas, and the BPFME. In addition, several key members of foreign development finance institutions (DFIs) like the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the African Development Bank, the World Bank, the European Investment Bank (EIB), Proparco (France), the UK CDC Group, the Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) were in attendance.

Launched in June 2016, in partnership with Le15, Meninx Holding, the Tunisian American Enterprise Fund and the Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie (BIAT), Flat6Labs Tunis is set to support and invest in more than 90 Tunisian startups over five years through its accelerator program and a TND 20M early-stage fund, with the aim of contributing to the creation of a thriving environment for entrepreneurship in Tunisia. 

"The Flat6Labs accelerator is opening up new horizons for these startups. We are very proud to support these high-potential entrepreneurs, and strongly believe that their energy, dedication and innovation will help play a part in building the future of Tunisia,” said Mehdi Tamarziste, CEO of Meninx Holding said.

“We were delighted to witness the growth of the first batch of Tunisian entrepreneurs that went through the Flat6Labs accelerator, and are looking forward to seeing what the future has in store for these six startups, as well as the remaining ones over the next few years,“ said Karim Ghenim, Head of Private Equity at Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie (BIAT). “TAEF has committed to serving all parts of the Tunisian small and medium business sector and this partnership is one of our important pathways for investment. We think these first six startups have real potential and we see them as the first wave of a large number of startups to come,” added Bowman Cutter, Chairman of Tunisian American Enterprise Fund. 

Photos: Courtesy of Flat6Labs Tunisia.