Tunisian Center for Social Entrepreneurship

What Tunisian Center for Social Entrepreneurship does

Tunisian Center for Social Entrepreneurship (TCSE; legal name Centre Tunisien pour l'Entrepreneuriat Social) is a Tunisian non-profit association founded in 2012 and headquartered at 02 Rue Mouaouia Ibn Abi Soufiane, 1002 Tunis, with 11–50 employees. TCSE operates as a social entrepreneurship enabler, delivering capacity-building, acceleration, and incubation services to social entrepreneurs, NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) youth, women entrepreneurs, civil society organizations, and public institutions in Tunisia and the broader Mediterranean region. Its value proposition is built on a "coproduction" approach that combines grassroots entrepreneur support with institutional reform and policy advocacy.

The organization's core offerings are organized around programs and EU-funded projects rather than technology products. Service lines include the TCSE Acceleration Program (in its 9th edition, supporting 38 micro-social enterprises), the EmpoweerNEET Programme (€2.3M total budget over 30 months targeting 300 NEETs across six Mediterranean countries), the SSE Cluster in the Medina of Tunis (co-produced with the Municipality of Tunis at Dar Ben Achour and the Female Force Studio with Mdinti and Collectif Créatif), the Lingare Festival, and a portfolio of co-funded projects (MedRiSSE, MedTOWN, SAMIM, Trait d'Union, GreenWorks, Dignifying Working Conditions Phase II). Underlying infrastructure is limited to a WordPress website and Eventbrite for event registration; there is no proprietary software, API, or data platform.

TCSE's revenue model is project-based grant funding rather than commercial sales. Services to beneficiaries are provided at no cost, funded through grant tranches from EU instruments (Interreg NEXT MED, ENI CBC Med), bilateral donors (AFD, Generalitat Valenciana, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs via HIVOS, Italian Ministry of Interior), and foundations (Fondation de France, Ashoka Arab World). TCSE typically participates in multi-country consortia as a project partner (e.g., PP4 in EmpoweerNEET), capturing a defined share of overall project budgets—its MedRiSSE allocation was €101,917.50 over two years.

Name

Tunisian Center for Social Entrepreneurship

Legal name

Centre Tunisien pour l'Entrepreneuriat Social

Website

https://tcse.network

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Tunisian Center for Social Entrepreneurship (TCSE) is a Tunisian non-profit founded in 2012 that delivers capacity-building, acceleration, and incubation services to social entrepreneurs, NEET youth, women, and civil society organizations in Tunisia and the Mediterranean, funded primarily through EU and bilateral grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Entrepreneurship Support Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Program & Project Implementation (TA Delivery) (BPADAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Digital Development & ICT4D / GovTech Technical Assistance (BPADAEAL)

Keywords

• Social entrepreneurship support
• Capacity building programs
• Social economy ecosystem
• Youth entrepreneurship training
• Nonprofit project management

Headquarters

HQ city

Tunis

HQ country

Tunisia

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Project-based funding and grants: TCSE operates as a nonprofit organization that generates revenue primarily through international development projects funded by institutions such as the European Union, ENI CBC Med, Generalitat Valenciana, AFD, and other international donors. The organization does not appear to generate commercial revenue from product/service sales but rather through project implementation, consulting services, and grant-based funding.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

TCSE is a Tunisian non-profit association that designs and delivers programs, projects, and events supporting social entrepreneurs, NEET youth, women-led enterprises, and civil society organizations. Core offerings include the TCSE Acceleration Program for micro-social enterprises, the EmpoweerNEET Programme for Mediterranean NEET youth, SSE ecosystem projects (MedRiSSE, MedTOWN, SAMIM, Trait d'Union), the SSE Cluster in the Medina of Tunis, and the Lingare Festival. Services are funded by international development grants from the EU, AFD, Generalitat Valenciana, and other donors, and are delivered at no cost to beneficiaries.

Product overview

TCSE is a Tunisian non-profit organization (created in 2012) focused on social entrepreneurship enablement rather than a technology product company. Its offerings consist of programs, projects, and events: the TCSE Acceleration Program provides technical and financial support to social enterprises; the EmpoweerNEET Programme addresses Mediterranean NEET youth unemployment through SSE training; the MedRiSSE and MedTOWN projects promote social policy coproduction; SAMIM supports civil society organizations; Lingare Festival showcases social innovation; and the SSE Cluster facilitates cross-sector collaboration in the Medina of Tunis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TCSE Acceleration Program Program of technical and financial support for social enterprises in Tunisia, providing acceleration services to micro-enterprises through training, mentorship, and incubation. It supports micro-social enterprises and women-led cooperatives, including a cohort of 20 women social entrepreneurs in Grand Tunis.
• EmpoweerNEET Programme Mediterranean-wide initiative co-funded by the EU Interreg NEXT MED Programme targeting NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) youth, offering training on social entrepreneurship, green skills, and employability across Tunisia, Palestine, Spain, Greece, Lebanon, and France. The total budget is EUR 2.3 million.
• MedRiSSE Project A 2-year initiative (September 2021 to August 2023) co-funded by ENI CBC MED, capitalizing on social innovation projects and promoting coproduction of social policies in the Mediterranean with TCSE's budget share at EUR 101,917.50.
• MedTOWN Project Project co-funded by ENI CBC MED and Generalitat Valenciana focused on coproducing social services and social policies with SSE actors to combat poverty, inequalities, and social exclusion.
• SAMIM Project Project funded by AFD and Fondation de France, implemented by Lab'ess in partnership with PULSE Group and 4 support structures including TCSE. TCSE selected 7 civil society organizations in Grand Tunis for technical and financial support through the Samim Hub Tunis.
• Trait d'Union Project International cooperation project between Tunisia and Italy funded by the Italian Ministry of Interior, promoting social entrepreneurship with a focus on circular economy. TCSE implements the second incubation cycle supporting 20 entrepreneurs.
• SSE Cluster (Social and Solidarity Economy Cluster) Cluster of actors for social and solidarity economy initiated by TCSE in the Medina of Tunis, operating through co-production units involving public, private, and civil society sectors with activities at Digital Lab at Dar Ben Achour and Female Force Studio at Collectif Créatif and Mdinti.
• Lingare Festival Festival promoting social innovation in Tunisia held at the Medina of Tunis. The second edition, organized in collaboration with MedTOWN, Trait d'Union, and Dignifying Working Conditions projects, featured interactive stations where participants collaborated with social entrepreneurs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 300 NEET youth trained through EmpoweerNEET program
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• An-Najah National UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 October 2025Lead Partner in the EmpoweerNEET project. An-Najah National University (Palestine) provides overall coordination and strategic oversight for the Mediterranean initiative targeting NEET youth. The project is co-funded by the EU under the Interreg NEXT MED Programme.
• Fons Català de Cooperació al DesenvolupamentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 October 2025Catalan Fund for Development Cooperation serves as PP1 in EmpoweerNEET, providing institutional coordination, dissemination and sustainability expertise for the Mediterranean project.
• KMOP (Greece)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 October 2025KMOP Social Action and Innovation serves as PP2 in EmpoweerNEET, contributing capacity-building, training methodologies, and transfer of good practices for youth empowerment programs.
• Business Consultancy & Training Services (BCTS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 October 2025BCTS in Lebanon serves as PP3 in EmpoweerNEET, providing entrepreneurship support and business development services for NEET participants.
• CDE Petra Patrimonia (France)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 October 2025Coopérative d'Activité et d'Emploi Petra Patrimonia serves as PP5 in EmpoweerNEET, contributing place-based youth entrepreneurship and cooperative approaches.
• Possibilists Global AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 March 2025TCSE joined the Possibilists global network, a global alliance of the world's largest youth social innovation communities comprising nearly 50 local youth organisations reaching hundreds of thousands of young changemakers. Initiated by ChangemakerXchange.
• Samim Project ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 May 2024Samim (funded by AFD and Fondation de France) implemented by Lab'ess in partnership with PULSE Group and 4 structures including TCSE. TCSE selected 7 civil society organizations in Grand Tunis for technical and financial support.
• Municipality of TuniscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 November 2023TCSE collaborates with the Municipality of Tunis on the SSE Cluster in the Medina of Tunis, facilitating coproduction of public and social services. The Municipality provides space at Dar Ben Achour library and coordinates across multiple departments.
• MdinticoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 November 2023Economic interest group selected by TCSE to join the SSE Cluster, implementing activities at the Female Force Studio and providing training in photography and videography for female social entrepreneurs.
• Collectif CréatifcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 November 2023Collective of cultural actors focused on creative activities, selected by TCSE to join the SSE Cluster. Hosts the Female Force Studio hub providing prototyping guidance and sustainable product design training.
• Johud - Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human DevelopmentminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 February 2023Jordanian organization that organized the MedRiSSE Jordanian National Stakeholders Dialogue Event on Social Innovation, bringing together project partners and Jordanian stakeholders.
• Trait d'Union ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 January 2023International cooperation project between Tunisia and Italy funded by Italian Ministry of Interior, focusing on social entrepreneurship with emphasis on circular economy. TCSE implements the second incubation cycle supporting 20 entrepreneurs.
• Blue FishcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 June 2022Social enterprise rooted in the Medina of Tunis collaborating with TCSE on SSE Cluster facilitation and co-production of the book 'The Tunisian Doing Together' (حمل الجماعه ريش) on social innovation.
• MedRiSSE ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2021MedRiSSE (Replicable Innovations of SSE) project consortium includes partners from Spain, Palestine, Italy, Jordan, and Tunisia, capitalizing on five previous projects (IESS, MedTOWN, MedUP!, MoreThanAJob, RUWOMED) for SSE development.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Enactus Tunisia: National chapter of the global student social-entrepreneurship organisation; pursues similar youth-empowerment and micro-enterprise outcomes in Tunisia through university-based programmes.
• Injaz Tunisia: Tunisian affiliate of Junior Achievement focused on youth entrepreneurship, work-readiness, and financial literacy — directly comparable mission to TCSE's youth and women segments.
• Lab'ess: Tunisian social and solidarity economy incubator/accelerator; implements SAMIM (AFD/Fondation de France) together with TCSE and runs parallel entrepreneur-support programmes in Tunisia with a near-identical beneficiary base.
• Ashoka Arab World: Regional social-entrepreneurship network that has co-funded TCSE outputs and operates a fellow-based model for social entrepreneurs across the Arab world — directly comparable mission and target ecosystem.
• KMOP (Social Action and Innovation Centre): Greek NGO partner in EmpoweerNEET (PP2); delivers capacity-building, training, and NEET-focused programmes with methods directly transferable to TCSE's beneficiary segments.

Broad incumbents

• UNDP Tunisia: UN agency supporting youth employment, social economy, and inclusive growth in Tunisia; a broader institutional incumbent with overlapping SSE, NEET, and policy-advisory mandates.
• Oxfam Tunisia: Listed partner of TCSE and a broader international development incumbent operating multi-sector programmes (economic justice, gender, governance) in Tunisia with substantially larger resources.
• AFD (Agence Française de Développement): Bilateral development agency that funds SAMIM and other TCSE-aligned projects; a broader incumbent providing parallel SSE and youth-employment financing in Tunisia and the Mediterranean.
• GIZ Tunisia: German development agency implementing dual-training and SME/employment programmes in Tunisia; offers overlapping capability in skills, employability, and SME acceleration.

Regional players

• British Council Tunisia: Operates youth-skills, entrepreneurship, and employability programmes in Tunisia through international funding — comparable beneficiary base and project-based delivery model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/tunisian.center.for.social.entrepreneurship
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tunisian-center-for-social-entrepreneurship

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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