In a bold move to elevate Tunisia’s startup ecosystem, Tunisian venture capital firm 216 Capital has teamed up with Silicon Valley innovation powerhouse Plug and Play to launch the 216 Capital Venture Accelerator, a six-month program designed to fast-track promising local startups toward regional and global expansion.
Program Snapshot
- The accelerator will support up to 20 Tunisian startups, each receiving €50,000 (approx. US$58,000) in initial funding.
- Beyond capital, participating startups will gain mentorship from international investors, coaches, and VCs, and access to Plug and Play’s global network of corporates, mentors, and backers.
- Exceptional performers may be eligible for follow-on investment through connected funds.
- The accelerator is backed by Smart Capital and the ANAVA fund of funds, aligning strongly with Tunisia’s national strategic aims for its innovation landscape.
Dhekra Khelifi, Partner at 216 Capital, described the collaboration as a milestone: “By joining forces with Plug and Play, we are giving local founders the tools to structure their businesses, raise capital, and access international markets.”
Yves Cabanac, Managing Director for France, Benelux, and Africa at Plug and Play, added that Tunisia has already demonstrated its potential to produce globally relevant startups. He stated that the program intends to “accelerate that momentum by identifying high-potential ventures, aligning them with global standards, and channeling new flows of capital into the country.”
At a broader level, the initiative aspires to:
- Mobilize greater investment into Tunisia’s early-stage tech ecosystem, via 216 Capital and Plug and Play’s investment networks.
- Position Tunisia as a trans-regional innovation hub, bridging Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.
- Spark new startup success stories that can command international visibility and validation.
Tunisia’s government has long pushed for a strong innovation landscape via the Startup Act of 2018, which offers incentives, regulatory support, and funding mechanisms for tech entrepreneurs. However, scaling beyond national borders has remained a key challenge for many founders, limited by fragmented markets and constrained access to global capital.
The 216 Capital Venture Accelerator aims to alleviate these constraints by injecting not just capital, but global pathways and standards into the local startup journey. For founders, this means better structures, sharper investment readiness, and real routes to cross-border scale.
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