Flat6Labs Tunis - Afrikan Heroes

Flatlabs Renews Its Support For Tunisian Entrepreneurs And Invests In 8 Startups

October 12, 2020

Flat6Labs Tunis has renewed its challenge as it celebrates its 6th Demo Day, which will take place online on Wednesday October 14, 2020 at 7 p.m. Tunis time.

As part of this new edition, 8 new startups, meticulously chosen, were able to benefit from a tailor-made support program. The areas covered by the selected startups are E-Health, Gaming, Insurance, Fintech, RetailTech and Fashion.

Yehia Houry, Managing Director of Flat6Labs Tunis

In partnership with Meninx Holding, TAEF, BIAT and IFC, Flat6Labs Tunis has supported, since its launch, 43 startups by investing more than 11 million dinars. Flat6labs Tunis is also pleased with the accomplishment of many social achievements, including the creation of 300 highly qualified jobs.

“Flat6Labs Tunis aims to be a framework conducive to the growth and internationalization of startups. To do this, our program provides our ambitious project leaders with 100,000 TND in cash, as well as an international network of investors and expertise provided by mentors around the world. Our ultimate goal is to set the bar higher at each cycle by strengthening our network and at the same time improving the offer made available to our startups “, underlines Yehia Houry, Managing Director of Flat6Labs Tunis.

Over the past three years, Flat6Labs Tunis has succeeded in asserting itself as a key player in innovation within the Tunisian entrepreneurial ecosystem.

To attend this Demo Day Demo Day, which will take place on October 14 at 7:00 p.m., you will need to register at https://demoday.flat6labstunis.com/rsvp

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer

What Flat6Labs Tunis’ First Ever Virtual Startup Career Jam Can Teach Other African Startups

August 7, 2020

Flat6Labs Tunis organized on July 28, the 3rd edition of its job fair – Startup Career Jam. This edition, 100% digital as a precaution against COVID-19, is the result of collaboration with Fabskill, a startup alumni of Flat6Labs.

About twenty startups took part, offering more than 60 job positions and internship offers. More than 1400 participants took part in this virtual edition, bringing together candidates from several regions of Tunisia. A dozen candidate preparation workshops also took place before and during the event in collaboration with partners such as EFE, 5Points talent Pool, OST, Go my Code, Simplon or Orange Developer Circle to name but a few. some.

Indeed, Flatlabs Tunis’ yearly Career Jam, especially this year’s edition teaches other African startups about the persisting against all odds.

“Our mission is to support our startups in recruiting talent so that they can develop their products and services more quickly, but also offer learning and recruitment opportunities to young talent.” says Yehia Houry, Managing Director of Flat6Labs Tunis.

Read also:Vodacom Plans to Launch a New Fintech Service in South Africa

He adds that “It is undoubtedly necessary to continue to play the role of facilitator of connection between the startups and the job seekers. We will continue to support job creation in Tunisia and hope that the next edition will attract more startups and job seekers with the aim of creating new opportunities for young people in Tunisia ”.

Béchir Afifi, CEO and co-founder of Fabskill emphasizes that “Our goal has always been to create wealth on Tunisian soil and to contribute to recruitment and job creation has always been our priority. We have the ultimate conviction that our new platform will have a huge impact on the job market in Tunisia by offering quality matching between job seekers and recruiters thanks to artificial intelligence which represents the cornerstone of our project”.

Read also:Egypt’s Fintech Startup ElGameya Raises A Six-figure Investment In Pre-seed Funding

It should be noted that the two previous editions of the Startup Career Jam took place in 2019 in partnership with Facebook Developer Circles, Education for Employment and Cogite. In total, 45 startups offered more than 165 jobs and internships to more than 500 job seekers.

All offers are now available at: www.fabskill.com

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer

International Finance Corporation (IFC)injects $1 million into Flat6Labs Tunis (Anava Seed Fund)

September 30, 2019

Startups in Tunisia have got a new fund to pitch to. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group has announced it would be injecting $1 million into Tunisia-based Anava Seed Fund, an accelerator and early-stage fund managed by Flat6Labs Tunis.

“The move aims to support tech entrepreneurship and women entrepreneurs in particular, as well as to boost Tunisia’s nascent venture capital ecosystem,” said the statement.

Here Is The Deal

Almost half of the money would be provided by the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), a partnership among governments, multilateral development banks, and other public and private sector stakeholders, hosted by the World Bank Group.
We-Fi, as the statement notes, is supporting women entrepreneurs in developing countries by building their capacity, scaling up access to financial products and services, and providing links with global markets.
The implication of this that essentially Flat6Labs Tunis would be preferring female-founded startups for investment than it used to as it is now part of their mandate.
The investment by IFC in Flat6Labs Tunisia is part of its $30 million Startup Catalyst initiative that backs accelerators and seed funds in emerging markets to help them venture capital ecosystem and boost entrepreneurial activity. IFC has previously also invested in Flat6Labs Cairo and Ibtikar Capital.

According to Georges Joseph Ghorra, IFC’s Resident Representative in Tunisia:

“Early-stage funding is vital to building a robust startup ecosystem and to help entrepreneurs establish companies that can develop innovative solutions and create quality jobs. We aim to address the funding gaps in this space, especially for women entrepreneurs, to continue to spur innovation and economic growth in Tunisia and the region.”

Previous Flat6Labs’ Investment In Startups

Dabchy, a Flat6Labs Tunis-backed female-led startup that was part of accelerator’s first cohort, recently raised $300,000 in seed funding from 500 Startups (MENA) and two Saudi VCs, which to the best of our knowledge is the highest amount of funding raised by a Flat6Labs Tunis startup.
Flat6Labs Tunis which is a partnership between Flat6Labs, BIAT, TAEF (Tunisian American Enterprise Fund), Meninx Holding and Le15, per statement, is increasing its seed fund size to $10 million to support up to 100 technology companies and to help address the lack of early-stage capital in Tunisia.
According to Ramez El-Serafy, CEO at Flat6Labs:

“We believe that our partnership with IFC will enable us to continue providing entrepreneurs with a better support program and encourage more candidates, especially women, to apply and thrive through it.”

Read also: How International Organisations Are Helping Startups In Africa

The International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group)

The IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and a development finance institution. Being the largest global institution targeting private sector institutions in developing countries, like Africa, companies or entrepreneurs desiring to establish new ventures or expand existing enterprises can approach IFC directly by submitting an investment proposal to the field office closest to the location of the proposed project

Investment Targets so far.

More than $25 billion has been invested by the IFC in African businesses and financial institutions, and its current portfolio (in 2017) exceeds $5 billion.
The IFC invested $3 million in Madagascar’s SMTP Group towards the expansion of its company’s poultry business in the country in 2015.
The IFC provided a $7.5 million equity in Zoona, a financial services business that provides in-country and cross-border money transfers in Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique in 2015
In 2018, it made $11.6 billion in long-term investments in 366 projects, and additionally mobilized nearly $11.7 billion to support the private sector in developing countries.

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Tunisia earlier this year had also secured a $175 million loan from The World Bank, $75 million of which is supposed to be invested in startups in the country.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world