SMALL GRANTS STORIES : Startup Training Center

COVID-19 Response / Articles / 20-07-2022

After completing a degree in computer engineering in 2014 and working for a while as an IT manager at a pharmaceutical lab, I decided to start my own project. I researched different business prospects and found the opportunity to work with a prominent British education service provider (E-Planet) to offer English language certification courses.  

I decided to seize the opportunity: In 2019, I opened a training center in Gabes that teaches English and computer science, making us the only institution in the region to offer this service.  

We started with four trainers and 40 learners and quickly gained traction. Soon after opening, however, we were hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis and had to shut down for three months. We managed to run a few online courses, but were not equipped to run all of them. 

I found out about the COVID-19 Enterprise Recovery Fund launched by the U.S. Government through USAID Tunisia JOBS while listening to the radio. I applied and received a grant that funded new computer equipment for our training room and helped us advertise the center to attract new clients. Fortunately, we were able to keep all our trainers on staff and grow – we are expecting about 65 learners for this academic year and plan to introduce a new training course in robotics. 

Marwa Meftah – Startup Training Center  

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