The two winning start-ups of the Green Impact in the Mediterranean – Positive Investments for Positive Impacts (Gimed) project will be announced on Monday, May 15, said Aymen Mchirgui, project coordinator at the Confederation of Citizen Enterprises of Tunisia (Conect).
These are 2 pilot startups with a strong ecological and environmental impact, selected from 11 startups who presented their projects to the jury on Saturday May 13, during a networking and exchange event organized in Tunis.
The winners will receive a grant of 7,500 euros from the European Union (EU).
Launched in Tunisia in 2019, the Gimed project will continue until 2023.
In its first phase, it has already selected six idea bearers out of a total of 10. It aims to support the development of eco-innovative companies in order to create jobs and stimulate the green and circular economy in the Mediterranean.
This project, which is implemented in Spain, Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia, Egypt and Italy, will establish, with the support of the United Nations, a Green Entrepreneurship Standard for the support tools needed to create profitable businesses and award them a quality label to improve their access to finance and markets.
Rim Dorghami, in charge of the management of Gimed, indicated that this project dedicated to bearers of ideas and green or circular projects, allowed, in a first phase, the support and training of 80 entrepreneurs by experts in the field of entrepreneurship. The selection criteria for the winning projects are mainly innovation, environmental value and social value.
For her part, the president of the jury, Hela Talhaoui, trainer-coach in green entrepreneurship, employability and personal development, told the Tap agency that the common point between the entrepreneurs was an ecological watch, that is to say that the projects presented respond to the environmental and social dimension, while being economically viable.
The expert said that the green project is a social enterprise that takes into account the profit of the company and its social (creation of decent jobs), environmental and ecological impacts, in particular to respond to national and international challenges concerning the preservation natural resources, through eco-technical innovation and circular economy. The goal is responsible production and consumption.
Innovative startups in green and circular economy
Some of the innovative green and circular start-ups that have benefited from the training and support provided by the Gimed project presented their projects in various sectors of activity (industry, agriculture and agro-industry, textiles-clothing, energy, etc.) .
Mohamed Ali Dhemaied, owner of the Exmad Deco company, in the development phase, said that his project offers solutions for the recovery of marble waste through a special treatment allowing the production of pebbles called “moon stones” and tiles . which reflect light in the dark, using a light storage system during the day. These marble stones are used for decoration.
This solution reduces waste in the marble industry and also helps reduce energy consumption. Dhemaied plans to market his project on the local market and then move on to European markets.
In the field of agriculture, Ismail Thabet, founder of Blue Jet, specialized in the Internet of Things, presented his project which consists of an innovative solution called “Irouini” . It is an intelligent system designed for the irrigation of oases.
The objective is to improve the yield of Tunisian oases and preserve them as a natural resource. This solution reduces water consumption and data collection so that the farmer can control the land and its yield.
The company obtained the startup label in July 2022 and plans to expand its customer portfolio in 2023, which currently includes 10 farmers in Gafsa, Tozeur and Kébili.
Still in the field of agriculture, Taieb Nemissi, a fisheries and environmental engineer specializing in the production and enhancement of microalgae and co-founder of the start-up Algaepool, said that his company offers an innovative solution for the production of microalgae in recycled shipping containers.
This startup transforms shipping containers into autonomous microalgae production units, by collecting end-of-life containers and recycling them, installing technical equipment, and then delivering them to customers for use in microalgae production.
The startupper said that the specificity of this ecological solution is that it promotes sustainable agriculture by producing microalgae in arid areas that resist the effects of climate change and offer greater profitability. It is a green project that has given a different vision of agriculture, offering a solution that solves most of the problems of agriculture, such as water consumption, especially since microalgae (vegetable proteins) do not consume no water and are beneficial to health.
“Our company has existed since 2021 and obtained the startup label in January 2022. It is currently in the product improvement phase and is seeking funding. It targets foreign markets as well as the local market,” he explained.
In the stationery sector, Tarek Mnif, founder of the Pubag agency, presented his project for an advertising agency specializing in the free distribution of ecological bread bags to bakeries.
These bread bags carry advertisements and are financed by advertisers wishing to launch a temporary and geographically limited advertising campaign.
The objective of this solution is to help reduce the consumption of plastic bags in the bakery sector, while protecting the health and well-being of individuals through the use of food paper bags.
The advertiser chooses the geographical area of his advertising campaign and the company ensures the distribution, control and monitoring of the campaign. The company was established a year ago and the first campaign was launched to coincide with the ban on plastic bags in bakeries.
Intissar Mersni, owner of the company Green Api Therapy, specializes in the development of bee products in cosmetology and agri-food and their transformation into natural products intended for different age groups.
In the ready-to-wear sector, Sarra Okbi, fashion designer and founder of the Tyssara brand, presented her eco-responsible Tunisian ready-to-wear brand.
Aimed at active, curvy young women who like to be relaxed, the project involves collecting and recycling textile waste and second-hand items to create an eco-responsible ready-to-wear collection made from natural materials (wool and silk …).
The objective is to reduce the use of natural resources, especially since the textile sector is a polluting sector, as well as to reduce textile waste and promote clothing made in Tunisia.
