Introduction
Impact Partner is a Tunisian social entrepreneurship and impact-investment organization that provides financial support, business development services, mentorship, and capacity building to social enterprises and impact-driven small and medium-sized businesses.
History and Background
Impact Partner emerged as part of the Yunus Social Business Network and has worked for more than a decade to strengthen social entrepreneurship and impact investing in Tunisia.
The organization celebrated ten years of activity in 2025, highlighting its contribution to a more inclusive, innovative, and sustainable Tunisian economy. Its work has evolved from individual startup-acceleration projects into a wider portfolio encompassing social-business financing, investment readiness, green entrepreneurship, open innovation, ecosystem development, and employment creation.
Mission and Purpose
Impact Partner’s purpose is to support and scale social businesses and impact-driven SMEs that respond to important social and environmental challenges in Tunisia.
The organization promotes entrepreneurship as a practical instrument for empowering communities, reducing inequality, protecting the environment, and creating sustainable employment.
Its mission is to accelerate the growth of impact-oriented enterprises by providing entrepreneurs with access to resources, mentorship, technical expertise, networks, and investment. These services are intended to help businesses generate measurable social and environmental value while remaining financially sustainable.
Governance and Structure
Impact Partner operates through a multidisciplinary team responsible for program management, administration, monitoring, evaluation, communications, and technical assistance.
As part of the Yunus Social Business Network, it combines local knowledge of Tunisia’s entrepreneurial environment with international social-business experience and partnerships.
The organization works with foundations, development agencies, financial institutions, corporations, investors, government-linked organizations, entrepreneurship-support organizations, and international development partners.
Impact Partner publishes audited reports, financial statements, and information about external funding through its official website. Available documents include audit reports and financial statements associated with Yunus Social Business Tunisia and Impact Partner’s activities.
Funding and Grants
Impact Partner uses several financing mechanisms to support social entrepreneurs and impact-driven SMEs. Depending on the program, assistance may include grants, interest-free loans, equity or impact investment, business acceleration, technical support, mentoring, and investment-readiness services.
Its programs are financed through partnerships with organizations such as the Drosos Foundation, Oxfam, Samsung Tunisia, the International Finance Corporation, Hivos, Impact Europe, the French Development Agency, Expertise France, and other public and private institutions.
Impact Partner also co-created a Social Business Fund managed by UGFS. The fund was established with a budget of €1 million and the participation of organizations including CDC, BIAT, ATB, UGFS, and Yunus Social Business. Its purpose is to provide financing to enterprises that combine commercial activity with measurable social impact.
The organization is not limited to distributing conventional grants. It blends financial assistance with training, business coaching, technical expertise, networking, and post-program support to improve the long-term sustainability of participating enterprises.
Major Programs and Initiatives
Impact Together
Impact Together provides customized training, mentorship, technical expertise, and financing support to social entrepreneurs and social-economy support organizations.
The program is designed to prepare at least 100 social entrepreneurs to scale their impact and strengthen organizational resilience. It also intends to support between 40 and 50 entrepreneurs and support organizations with tailored financing solutions while strengthening several financing mechanisms at national and regional levels.
Women, young entrepreneurs, and underserved rural and urban communities receive particular attention under the initiative.
Social Business Fund
The Social Business Fund supports enterprises that use viable business models to address social challenges. It represents Impact Partner’s role in developing Tunisia’s impact-investment market and connecting social businesses with suitable financial resources.
The fund complements investment with technical and strategic support, helping participating enterprises strengthen their operations, measure impact, and prepare for future financing.
Samsung FastTrack
Samsung FastTrack was developed by Impact Partner and Samsung Electronics Tunisia to encourage technology entrepreneurship among young graduates and startup founders.
Initially created for university students with early-stage ICT ideas, the initiative later expanded into a national accelerator for established technology startups. It provided participants with entrepreneurship training, expert guidance, mentoring, and access to business and investor networks.
Green4Youth
Green4Youth is an acceleration program implemented by Impact Partner and Flat6Labs Tunisia with support from Hivos and the International Finance Corporation.
The program supports technology-enabled startups and SMEs that create environmental benefits. It focuses on developing youth economic opportunities within Tunisia’s green economy while helping sustainable businesses refine their models and expand their operations.
Youth Employment and Enterprise Acceleration
Impact Partner has implemented programs targeting young enterprises with strong potential to create employment for women and young people.
One such initiative supported 41 businesses and contributed to the creation of 200 jobs. Other programs have provided coaching, business services, financial assistance, and entrepreneurship training to help enterprises protect existing employment and prepare for growth.
Danish-Arab Partnership Program
Through initiatives supported by the Danish-Arab Partnership Program, Impact Partner works to improve employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for young Tunisians, particularly women and marginalized groups.
Related programs include GrowImpact, Boost Impact, Thamra, and university-based entrepreneurship activities designed to strengthen business capabilities and encourage decent employment.
Open Innovation Programs
Impact Partner’s open-innovation activities connect startups with corporations, investors, mentors, and technical specialists. Programs such as MADAR Corporates, Samsung FastTrack, and B2B Dialogue help entrepreneurs develop solutions to business and social challenges while creating opportunities for commercial partnerships.
Impact Now
Impact Now brings together investors, entrepreneurs, ecosystem organizations, and social innovators to discuss impact investment and sustainable entrepreneurship.
The 2026 event in Tunis was designed to address financing challenges, encourage collaboration, mobilize capital, and support the growth of impact-driven enterprises across Tunisia and North Africa.
Impact and Examples of Work Funded
Impact Partner reports organizing more than 634 events involving over 9,608 active participants. Its published figures include more than 4,011 female entrepreneurs supported and over 971 participants from Tunisia’s regions, with women representing approximately 41.75 percent of participation.
The organization has supported startups operating in agriculture, environmental services, technology, employment, crafts, education, urban resilience, and other impact-focused sectors.
One example is Wayout, an enterprise developing filters to address urban waste and drainage challenges. A TND 30,000 Green4Youth grant supported its prototype and first municipal pilot, while a subsequent TND 80,000 FundImpact investment enabled production expansion, recruitment, and wider implementation.
Impact Partner alumni report using its financing and technical assistance to recruit employees, support artisans, strengthen internal processes, measure performance, prepare for fundraising, and develop relationships with investors and business partners.
Conclusion
Impact Partner strengthens Tunisia’s social-enterprise ecosystem by combining investment, grants, business acceleration, mentorship, and partnership development. Its programs help entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses, create employment, attract financing, and address social and environmental challenges through scalable market-based solutions.
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