Tunis, Tunisia, September 26, 2019—IFC,
a member of the World Bank Group, is investing $1 million into Anava Seed
Fund (ASF), an accelerator and early stage fund managed by Flat6Labs Tunisia,
to help support tech entrepreneurship and women entrepreneurs in particular,
as well as to boost Tunisia’s nascent venture capital ecosystem. Half
of this amount is provided by the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative
(We-Fi), a partnership among governments, multilateral development banks,
and other public and private sector stakeholders, hosted by the World Bank
Group. We-Fi supports women entrepreneurs in developing countries by building
their capacity, scaling up access to financial products and services, and
providing links with domestic and global markets.
Flat6Labs Tunisia,
a partnership between Flat6Labs—the
region’s largest acceleration program and early stage investment platform—BIAT,
TAEF (Tunisian American Enterprise Fund), Meninx Holding and Le15, is increasing
its seed fund size to $10 million to support up to 100 technology companies,
and to help address the lack of early stage capital in Tunisia.
Ramez El-Serafy, CEO at Flat6Labs, said,
“We believe that our partnership with IFC will enable us to continue providing
entrepreneurs with a better support program and encourage more candidates,
especially women, to apply and thrive through it.”
As part of the We-Fi program, IFC will
also work with Flat6Labs Tunisia to support women entrepreneurs and help
overcome the challenges they face through a gender-led strategy to foster
greater inclusion and create more opportunities.
“Early stage funding is vital to building
a robust startup ecosystem and to help entrepreneurs establish companies
that can develop innovative solutions and create quality jobs,” said Georges
Joseph Ghorra, IFC’s Resident Representative in Tunisia. “We aim to address
the funding gaps in this space, especially for women entrepreneurs, to
continue to spur innovation and economic growth in Tunisia and the region.”
The investment in Flat6Labs Tunisia is
part of IFC’s $30 million Startup Catalyst initiative, which backs accelerators
and seed funds in emerging markets to catalyze the venture capital ecosystem
and spur entrepreneurial activity. It aims to help bridge issues of insufficient
seed capital and business know-how and drive innovation by supporting the
crucial early stage of local VC ecosystems. The Flat6Labs Tunisia investment
follows two other investments through the Startup Catalyst program in the
MENA region— Flat6Labs Cairo, Flat6Labs’ flagship accelerator program
based in Cairo, and Ibtikar Capital, an early stage fund in Palestine.
About IFC
IFC—a sister organization of the World
Bank and member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development
institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work
with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, using our capital, expertise,
and influence to create markets and opportunities where they are needed
most. In fiscal year 2019, we delivered more than $19 billion in long-term
financing for developing countries, leveraging the power of the private
sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information,
visit www.ifc.org.
About We-Fi
The Women Entrepreneurs
Finance Initiative (We-Fi) is a collaborative partnership among fourteen
governments and eight multilateral development banks. Housed in the World
Bank Group, We-Fi seeks to unlock billions of dollars in financing to tackle
the full range of barriers facing women entrepreneurs—increasing access
to finance and markets, while strengthening policy, and legal and regulatory
frameworks. As one of the We-Fi implementing partners, IFC supports private
sector clients with investments and advisory services to expand financial
services and market access for women-owned/led firms, as well as increasing
the capacity of women entrepreneurs to run high-growth businesses. For
more information, visit www.we-fi.org.
About Flat6Labs Tunisia:
Since the launch of the initiative in
2016 between the Tunisian American Enterprise Fund (TAEF), Meninx Holding
and BIAT, Flat6Labs has supported 28 innovative Startups in Tunisia. The
program welcomes startups working in various sectors geared towards innovation
and the knowledge economy, including Education, Energy, Transport, FinTech,
GreenTech, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), as well as
Electronics and Industrial Solutions. The program is backed by Anava Seed
Fund and offers several investment tickets up to 1 Million Dinars.Flat6Labs
supports the next wave of entrepreneurs developing innovative solutions
and applications. We are proposing a unique program tailored to the national
context and contributing to the growth of the Tunisian entrepreneurial
ecosystem. In two years, Flat6Labs Tunisia has invested more than 6 Million
Dinars in 28 innovative Startups.
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