EFE-Tunisie held the closing ceremony of STEP, Support for Tunisian Entrepreneurial Pathways. With the support of NEA and the US Embassy in Tunisia, STEP helped 655 youth from the regions of Tozeur, Medenine, Zaghouan, and Bizerte receive capacity-building training on entrepreneurship; the 10 finalists and winners received mentoring and incubation for their start-ups.

The program responds to the needs of students in their final schooling years and to those who recently graduated.

"I think just earning a Bachelor's Degree does not automatically integrate students into the job market. Additional non-academic training is a must." - Naceur Tayeb, Director, 4C ISBAM Medenine.

STEP featured four stages:

1. An Ideation Camp which gathered 655 participants; they discussed different investment opportunities, as well as possible challenges.

"I learned how to formulate my idea and that my project needs more than just money." - Eya Yahmadi, participant.

2. Participants were separated into two groups: the Build Your Business and the Employability Program, according to skill level and personal interest.

"The participants in Build Your Business were exceptionally energetic. Our main purpose was to make sure that their ideas are in sync with what is going on in the Tunisian market." - Makrem Saidi, trainer.

3. 20 participants were selected for the Coaching Phase.

"We were put together with professionals from different fields. They gave us the tools to effectively expand our businesses. The number of my customers has been increasing since January." - Manel Laribi, participant.

4. Those who successfully elaborated their business plans were given a private three-month briefing period by Wiki Start-Up, Tunisia's first private incubator.

Hear what our beneficiaries have to say about STEP at https://www.facebook.com/EFETU...

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