Future Entrepreneurs

TAEF’s commitment to Tunisian entrepreneurs goes beyond our investment strategies. TAEF also works to inspire and prepare Tunisia’s next generations of entrepreneurs, small business owners and managers, the people who will build tomorrow’s businesses, creating economic and employment opportunity.
TAEF has designed and put in place innovative programs targeting students, the next generation of entrepreneurs:

Fellows Program

TAEF launched the “Fellows Program” in 2017 to connect students with potential employment opportunities within SMEs or as entrepreneurs. This program, open to students from all Tunisian universities, selects participants based on their applications and references.

Students align their skills and interests with the needs of TAEF’s portfolio companies, which define internship projects across various fields.
TAEF’s portfolio companies define internship projects in various fields

Program Details:

Interns receive training from TAEF in soft skills, such as communication and design thinking.
TAEF provides a financial allowance, which is supplemented by the host company.
Within portfolio companies, interns work on specific projects addressing real needs in fields like operations, marketing, software design, and accounting.
Interns receive close mentorship from TAEF and their supervisor within the company.
TAEF supports the Fellows community, composed of former interns, by providing continuous learning opportunities.

Open Innovation

Open Innovation brings together real problems faced by TAEF investees and student teams working on solutions in a competition, or “hackathon.”

A pilot project was launched at ISET Kairouan in April 2019, a university located in an interior region with high unemployment where students have limited access to resources and opportunity. Eleven teams of 4-5 students were eager participants in the competition under the guidance and coaching of faculty.

Student teams successfully developed creative and pragmatic solutions to three distinct business problems: one in manufacturing and operations, one in software design and one in digital game development.

Based on the success of the Open Innovation pilot, elements of the approach will be integrated into an expanded Fellows Program.

Inspire Us

“Inspire Us” is a series of podcast interviews that promote entrepreneurship by sharing powerful stories of successful and inspiring individuals. The first video in 2019 spotlighted Abdelhamid Bouchnak a young and successful entrepreneur in cinema and theater.

The U.S. Agency for International Development administers the U.S. foreign assistance program providing economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 80 countries worldwide.

This website is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the Tunisian American Enterprise Fund and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.