The annual “Femmes Entrepreneures de l’Année” offers female entrepreneurs in Tunisia the opportunity to tell the world about their successes and achievements. The event, attended by political and business leaders, is also a rare chance for the not-very-well-connected female entrepreneurs to connect and to network ― a critical, yet undervalued, aspect of entrepreneurial success.
The Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association (EMEA) strongly supports female and youth entrepreneurship in the region under its entrepreneurship initiative. In April 2019, the EMEA prize for capacity building on entrepreneurship was given to the women entrepreneur winner the year, Ms. Maroua Ben Ali, CEO of Herbéos. EMEA covered the costs of Ms. Ben Ali participation in a professional training on cosmetics, which took place in France in November 2019.
The 2020 event took place in the Laico Hotel in Tunis on 25.02.20 and it was attended by the Ministers of Industry and SMEs, of Higher Education, of Tourism and Handicrafts and of Health, as well as of the ambassadors of Germany and China. High ranking officials and CEO of the biggest banks and financial institutions were also among the participants. The Women Entrepreneur Award is organized by the monthly business magazine “Le Manager.”
The 2020 award was presented to Ms. Fatma Samet by Prof. Rim Ben Ayed Mouelhi, member of the expert panel of EMEA, and of the Steering Committee of the Euro-Mediterranean Network for Economic Studies (EMNES). Ms. Fatma Samet is the Head of Kerkenatiss, a company which revives the weaving the cultural traditions of Kerkennah Islands. The prize consists of a training sponsored by EMEA for a value of up to 3,500 EUR.
