Mashrou3i (Phase 2)

The 2011 revolution was a powerful expression of Tunisians’ desire to have their voice heard in the economic and political life of their country. Following the 2011 Revolution, the Tunisian government embarked on a series of efforts to improve the quality of governance, advance administrative reforms, fight corruption, increase social inclusion, and reduce regional disparities. USAID Tunisia supports these efforts through economic and governance assistance programs to promote both economic participation and democratic consolidation.

Mashrou3i (“My Project” in Arabic) generates employment opportunities for young men and women in fourteen disadvantaged governorates of Tunisia by providing direct support to entrepreneurs through technical assistance, training, and business coaching, and by enhancing the capacity of local business support institutions.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

The objective of Mashrou3i is to create at least 6,000 jobs for young men and women in 14 underserved governorates of Tunisia, through two outcomes:

• Business support and higher educational institutions deliver more adequate services to young entrepreneurs and students.
• Assisted entrepreneurs create and develop their businesses or find employment.

KEY ACTIVITIES

• Through the HP Life e-Learning program, entrepreneurs will be empowered with practical business and IT skills to facilitate the creation, growth and efficiency of their enterprises. With courses in finance, marketing, operations and communications, entrepreneurs and small business owners will gain real-life business and technology skills to meet the daily business challenges they face.
• Once completing the series of e-Learning courses from HP Life, entrepreneurs will attend a series of in-person workshops where they will apply the business concepts and IT tools directly to their business projects to develop and improve their business plans. Additional workshops include coaching to finalize business plans, and working with recent start-ups to overcome business challenges in their start-up and growth phase.
• Integrate the HP LIFE e-Learning platform into the entrepreneurship courses of at least 30 educational and/or training institutions to enrich their curricula and provide more marketable services for entrepreneurs.
• 400 aspiring entrepreneurs with high potential will be selected to receive individual business coaching support to assist them with the start-up of their business.
• At least 100 existing enterprises with high employment potential will be selected after an in-depth evaluation. The selected enterprises will receive technical assistance from experts in the fields of marketing, market access, technology upgrades, access to finance and investment promotion to support them in their growth phase.

Overall, the project aims to reach at least 25,000 young entrepreneurs. These activities will aim to create at least 6,000 jobs in the 14 targeted governorates over the project’s five-year duration.

CONTACTS

MISSION

USAID/Tunisia
U.S. Embassy Tunis
Les Berges du Lac-1053
Tunis
TUNISIA
Email: DOCTunisia@usaid.gov

HEADQUARTERS

Tunisia Desk
U.S. Agency for International Development
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20523
USA
Email: TunisiaDesk@usaid.gov