Financing Innovation: Alternative Solutions for Startups and SMEs
The Tunisian-Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in collaboration with the Vitamin expertise firm, organized an event titled "Financing Innovation: Alternative Solutions for Startups and SMEs." This event explored new financing approaches tailored to startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Tunisia.
Sophie Gombart, founder of Vitamin, highlighted the importance of helping businesses, whether startups or large corporations, to innovate. She emphasized the crucial role of reducing risks associated with innovation, which can be linked to various factors such as technology, market, or internal organization. "There are diverse and varied risks that can be linked to technology, market, or internal organization," she declared. The goal is to support businesses in making innovation more attractive to investors, whether banks, shareholders, or venture capital funds.
The event also shed light on the DeepMake program, supported by Innov'i and implemented by Expertise France. This program aims to provide significant funding to help Tunisian startups and SMEs develop. Sophie Gombart stressed the need for more substantial investments. "We can no longer be content with small investments; we need to seek out large sums of money," she affirmed. The program focuses on prototyping for SMEs and providing accompanying services, including design, manufacturing, and industrialization of prototypes to demonstrate the company's ability to access new markets and attract investors.
Among the projects presented, the startup XPro was highlighted. This company transforms plants into animal feed supplements and received support to increase its production capacity. Other startups were also present, including Yassine Allani, founder of Ad Solar Hub, who emphasized the importance of rethinking the use of solar energy for sustainable development. He criticized simplistic solutions that do not address the real challenges. "We get bogged down in what's simple but doesn't resonate with the problem," he stated.
According to Allani, it is essential to adopt a comprehensive approach. Solar energy should not be perceived solely as an alternative energy source but as a development factor. He presented an innovative project for mobile and autonomous solar-powered refrigerators. These refrigerators, powered by solar panels, use an alternative storage system to traditional batteries to preserve fresh products in local markets. This innovation will enable vendors to offer fresh products, such as fish or dairy products, in areas with limited access to electricity.
