Marwa Nabli is the founder of Patisserie Madame Chaabane, a fine-pastry manufacturer and caterer based in Gafsa. 

Ms. Nabli came up with the idea to start a fine-pastry shop after moving with her husband to Gafsa, where she realized there were no fine-pastry shops. While she had no formal training in the industry, she was determined to learn – and got her family in Nabeul to teach her the basics of baking and pastry-making. 

While struggling with unemployment can be discouraging, I didn’t let it get me down.

After earning my degree in accounting, I could not find a job in my field for years. Eventually, I decided to go in a new direction – to utilize my region’s rich supply of dates to start my own date-derivative business in Kebili.

I founded Hrayer Bechni, an agricultural development group in my hometown of Bechni, Kebili, with 11 local women. The hard-working women of this region deserve recognition and respect. Our goal is to gain financial independence and recognition for our region’s unique know-how and agricultural products, such as dates and palm wood.

Riadh Fehmi is the founder and general manager of Réseaux, Formation et Conseil (RFC), a company specialized in networking, consulting, training, and integration of IT infrastructure solutions. The company has built a broad portfolio of services that cater to businesses lacking dedicated IT departments. RFC's services range from hotline surveillance to remote maintenance and managed services, enabling clients to focus on their core operations while RFC handles all their IT needs.

Noureddine Saïdi is the founder and manager of Bio Origin Fruits, a company that processes, packages, and exports organic dates from the town of Hazoua, Tozeur.

After completing a chemistry degree, I decided to follow my passion for cars and pursue a career in auto body work. I dedicated myself to learning the craft and worked in the industry for over a decade. In 2017, I established my own auto-paint shop, and my commitment to using high quality equipment helped me stand out from my competitors. As a result, I was able to expand and open a second workshop with two additional staff.

Abdelmalek Ghannem is the founder of Société Industrielle de Bloc (SOIB), a manufacturing company that produces compressed stabilized earth blocks (CSEB), which are soil-based building material. Abdelmalek grew up in the small village of El Alam in Kairouan governorate and earned his law degree from the University of Sousse. He continued his studies in France and the US, earning advanced degrees in communications and leadership. With this expertise, he led numerous international trainings in soft skills for development organizations in Europe and Africa.