Rinchi
TechInAfrica – The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has invested $1 million in Flat6Labs Anava Seed Fund (ASF) to drive the startup ecosystem in Tunisia. ASF is an accelerator as well as an early-stage fund organized and managed by Flat6Labs Tunisia. Flat6Labs was founded in 2011 to support entrepreneurs with cutting-edge solutions.
Apart from IFC, the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), a member of the World Bank Group, will also support the ASF by providing $500K in funding. We-Fi empowers women entrepreneurs in developing countries, including increasing access to financial products and services, provides links with domestics and global markets, among others.
Ramez El-Serafy, CEO at Flat6Labs, states: “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.”
Both IFC and We-Fi will work together with Flat6Labs Tunisia to support female entrepreneurs and help them to address challenges facing their businesses. They will use a gender-led strategy to drive greater inclusion as well as open more opportunities.
“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,” said IFC’s Resident Representative, Georges Joseph Ghorra.
Ghorra added, “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.”
Its financial support in Flat6Labs is part of its Startup Catalyst initiative to back accelerators and seed funds in emerging markets to foster venture capital ecosystem as well as boost entrepreneurial activity.
Source: techtrendske.co.ke
