"I believe that, whatever happens, we never stop learning. I took this principle to heart during the COVID-19 crisis, which came with new challenges but also opened the door to new opportunities.

In 1999, after graduating with a degree in business administration, I launched Sunline, which imports and sells commercial cleaning products.

There was significant room for growth for our business, but the products I was importing were not perfectly suited to the local market. To better understand the chemical compounds of the imported products, I enrolled in chemistry courses. After five years of evening courses, I earned a degree in chemical engineering. Then, I worked to manufacture all my cleaning products locally, tailored to the market’s needs.

While the COVID-19 crisis was difficult on the business, it also pushed us to diversify our target markets. Today, we aim to bring our products to mass market, in addition to hotels, food providers, and the health industry.

Thanks to the COVID-19 Enterprise Recovery Fund launched by the U.S. government as part of its USAID Tunisia JOBS program and our investment in our employees, we have been able to sustain 15 jobs and plan to hire 10 additional employees when we bring the products to mass market. We are currently seeking technical assistance to develop better business monitoring solutions to reach our growth objectives."

Khalil ben Ahmed - SUNLINE