We’re very proud to announce the 64 social enterprises that have already been selected under the MedUP! Fund that will receive tailored financial and technical support throughout the duration of the project.
These companies represent the best examples of social entrepreneurship in Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt. They provide innovative and entrepreneurial solutions to social and environmental problems. They demonstrate strong performance and have the potential to grow their business. The companies span a wide range of industries and stages, including start-ups, mature businesses and everything in-between.
MedUP! Project
The MedUP! project is co-funded by the European Union and implemented by Oxfam and its European and Southern Mediterranean partners. The project started in March 2018 and will last for 48 months until February 2022.
The overall objective is to promote an enabling environment for the development of the social entrepreneurship sector as a driver for inclusive growth and job creation.
Its specific objective is to increase economic inclusiveness and employment in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine where adequate policies on social entrepreneurship are in place, public-private dialogue and exchanges of practices are promoted and high-quality business development services are available and provided to social enterprises.
About the Fund
The MedUP! Fund is a grant facility of 1 million Euros which has been allocated to support growth projects of 64 social enterprises in the 6 target countries. Each company has proposed a project aiming to grow their business and impact. These projects will be implemented in the coming year, funded by a combination of own contribution and the MedUP! Fund. In addition to the grant, the project provides technical support to selected social enterprises and will stimulate strategic networking to access additional funds from national and international financial institutions.
Selection Process
Social enterprises in all countries were asked to apply, and information sessions were organized. The process involved 2 stages, concept note and full proposal throughout a comprehensive selection process. In total 635 social enterprises applied initially (with a concept note) and 138 submitted a full proposal. Shortlisted companies were visited, interviewed or asked to pitch with the aim to get key information on their business and on their related social and financial impact. The selection was done by expert juries at national and regional level using strict selection criteria across all countries.
Networking with Financial Institutions and Investors
In addition to the grant and technical support, the MedUP! project aims to support the social enterprises in securing longer-term financing to further grow their business beyond the duration of the project. We will connect with international and national investors and financial institutions seeking to put their investments into social entrepreneurship.
This is part of our efforts to strengthen the (local) ecosystem and promote social entrepreneurship sector in the MENA region.
Special Thanks
We are sincerely grateful for all the entrepreneurs that took the time to apply. We have been inspired by their great solutions and plans. There are many quality companies that deserve to be supported, making it a challenging decision-making process. We are hopeful that more projects to support and promote social entrepreneurship in the region will follow.
We are thankful for all that have helped spread the message on the MedUP Fund and thankful for all jury members that helped in selection.
Please help us to promote social entrepreneurship as a force for good, by spreading this message. Or get in touch with these inspiring social enterprises themselves if you are interested to work with them.
The Portfolio
Here you can find an overview of all companies selected per country. Below the table, you will see a map and list with links to profiles of almost all selected social enterprises. Please visit their venture profiles to find out more and start following them.
AKYAS is a disposable single-use biodegradable bag that can be used in multiple sanitation settings. It disinfects, allows for the feces to be turned into fertilizer and offers a single-use solution for better hygiene.
Al Awda Centre for Youth and Childhood Rehabilitation is based in Tulkarm Refugee Camp. One of its projects is to collect wooden waste and turn them into recycled products such as flower pots, tables and chairs.
Alhayat is a consultancy company that seeks to improve the quality of education, health and environment. Alhayat collects hazardous medical waste for proper disposal.
Alreehyah Agricultural Society provides dairy products such as yoghurt, ghee, butter and other products like grape jam, dried figs and olive oil. Products are produced free from preservatives and sold in the local market.
Alwan wa Awtar offers artistic and non-formal educational activities to children and youth. In our community-based safe and supportive learning spaces, we provide a range of artistic, cultural and educational activities.
Anabta Cooperative Agricultural Society provides seedlings, seeds and supplies to its farmers. Their newest project is the construction of a greenhouse for production of ground berries and roses.
Annahda runs various projects amongst which the educational toy workshop. Disabled adults receive training and employment opportunities and produce wooden toys and furniture that is used in nurseries, kindergartens and schools.
Asma Al Weshah produces natural healthy food products such as jams, cheese, milk and pickles, and special products for diabetics and wheat allergies (gluten-free).
Banlastic works to ban single-use plastics by offering alternative products, increasing customer awareness, cleanups and various green events, influencing policymakers and through online content in Arabic.
BC Distribution promotes Tunisian agricultural products such as cheese, jam and hummus. Through partnership with farmers and craftsmen, high-end products are produced and distributed through retail stores.
Bethlehem Star Charitable Society provides vocational training and empowerment courses for disadvantaged women, men and youth.
Bookagri offers agritourism activities in 4 governorates in Jordan in partnership with local communities. They provide food, home-stay and other experiences and this supports income and rural development.
Compost Baladi empowers users at different levels to turn any biowaste, anywhere, into a bioresource. Services include municipal composting facilities, consulting waste management studies and awareness raising.
COOKIT provides an isothermal slow cooker that is energy efficient and eco-friendly. It does not require electricity, reduces toxic fumes, and food prepared in the COOKIT is healthier and tastier as it keeps all nutrients.
Couss & Co publishes comic books in Tunisia. Their latest magazine of comics for children called ‘The door to the sea’ aims to fascinate children towards reading and to promote comics as a didactic and fun medium.
CHREEK implements projects to create jobs for disadvantaged people. Former substance users are producing healthy fast food and sell this at the Nasmaya café. They also plant a tree for every item sold and work on awareness-raising.
Desert Rose empowers Bedouin women as cultural entrepreneurs in the south of Jordan and revive their weaving heritage. Desert Rose provides materials, designs, training and marketing and keeps traditions alive.
Dibeen Farms is a platform connecting local farmerswith consumers through online and offline channels. Dibeen Farms assists with ordering, delivery and retail placement of farmers’ products.
Easy Run is a digital platform that connects a community of two-wheeled couriers (with zero CO2 emission) who are offered all guarantees of safety and reliability to customers. This community of couriers consists of young entrepreneurs who are initially untrained and are far from the job market.
Ecodome Maroc exploits and revives ancient Moroccan and African construction techniques and combines them with modern engineering to deliver eco-friendly buildings and houses.
Educall is a social business that aims to ensure fulfillment to Moroccan kids aged between 5 and 12 years old regardless of their social class through gamified educational and inclusive programs.
Evaptainers are low-cost, electricity-free mobile refrigeration units. They utilize the phenomenon of evaporative cooling, making them ideal for off-grid rural areas with low relative humidity.
FabricAID is a Lebanese social enterprise that collects, sorts, and redistributes clothes to disadvantaged communities at microprices ($0.3-$2 per item).
Fromagerie Tebaba is a local milk processing company, based in the heights of Nefza (northwest Tunisia). Fromagerie collects milk and sells natural dairy products such as fresh cheese, ricotta, mozzarella, and butter.
Ghoorcom is an online marketplace that connects farmers to retailers for fresh food products. The platform has an integrated solution for logistics and payment.
Green Alafco recycles beverage cans and plastic bottles by working with low-income waste pickers and high-end innovative technology for recycling. Green Alafco sells aluminium and plastic as raw materials for re-use.
Green Track sorts waste at source and runs recycling projects led by the Green Women Team. Green Track also runs awareness and cleaning campaigns.
Healthy choice is a company that provide healthy fast food. This comes in the form of a delicious lunch box, which includes the calculated amount of nutrients that a human body needs. Production is done through kitchens at home.
Holy Land Handicraft runs 35 workshops producing olivewood and mother-of-pearl products. As a World Fair Trade Organization, products are sold to customers all over the world.
Social Enterprise Cluster has three main brands: ProAbled, Hum’n Go and M Social Catering. Hum’N Go is healthy on the go hummus snack. Hum’n Go employs persons with disabilities.
IDYR manufactures and sells fashion and home accessories that are sustainable, ethical and accessible. They are handmade by illiterate Moroccan women and made from recycled materials.
The society of Inash al Usra works on long term cultural, educational, professional, and financial development of women and children in the West Bank. One of the projects is Zafaran Kitchen and Restaurant employing mainly women.
KALYS is an online shop selling beautiful decorative objects made by carefully selected local craftsmen.
Le Lemon Tour is an agent of change: we put the bike back on the Tunisian roads and we offer a discovery of Tunisia in its multiple facets, for its inhabitants (such as school children) and its visitors (tourists).
Live Love Recycle is an instant mobile app solution that supports garbage collection for recycling. Live Love Recycle employs vulnerable people.
MADARAT Center for Community Development supports women and youth in entrepreneurship and sustainable development. They run school canteens and a central kitchen to supply healthy food to school students.
Maison de l’Image is an independent space dedicated to visual arts in all its forms : photography, video, cinema, and new media. It consists of meeting, training and coworking spaces, a cultural exchange platform and an artist residency.
Menha.org is a platform that connects Palestinian diaspora, businessmen, the private sector and local individual supporters with needy Palestinian university students who need the financial support to complete their higher education.
Mothers’ Cooking is a mobile app that connects the working millenials with stay-at-home mothers who can earn an income by cooking great meals.
Muffaker aims to enrich methods of education with tools and equipments that can develop the mental capacity & skills of young learners. Muffaker produces innovative educational books, games, programs, scientific kits and apps.
Pensee National Libre offers access to refurbished computer equipment, digital training services and popular education. It supports young people in developing 21st century skills.
Prev dev deploys an automated system to predict and alert on flood occurences. The solution is designed for professional risk management using a mobile app.
Recycling for Education collects waste in the community (bread, paper, plastic, clothes, mobile phones) and uses the income to pay for scholarships of students and girls in the Arab world. It also spreads the concept of recycling.
Ressourc’In uses upcycling to provide opportunities for young people in precarious situations. They create unique objects from recycled waste (plastic, paper, packaging, fabric scrap) and offer products such as fashion accessories, furniture and lighting.
Mamiam is a social brand that offers a professional integration program for women in precarious situations in the culinary work market, while offering consumers a wide range of homemade products for catering any event.
Schaduf is a green solutions provider; building vertical gardens, green roofs, and advanced urban farming solutions in the MENA region.
SMRC provides persons with intellectual disability (PWID) with rehabilitation, training services, inclusion, awareness-raising and social mobilization. Their newest project is to construct 3 greenhouses providing food and income for PWID.
SATS works with artisans of pottery, alabaster, glass products and others, and targets underprivileged women, youth and micro-entrepreneurs. SATS provides design, materials and equipment to produce high-quality products.
SunCity develops, builds and commercializes mobile and stationary Solar Water Pumps for small farmers to help them switch from diesel to solar energy.
Tatreez Design is social enterprise formed by 100 Palestinian women located in 4 camps in Lebanon that aims to empower Palestinian women while promoting their traditional embroidery.
The Good Socks designs, manufactures and sells quality lifestyle socks, with designs based on the Arab culture. With each pair of socks, a can of food is donated to those in need.
Vlaby is an educational virtual lab that allows students and teachers to do experiments and laboratory activities in an interactive online environment.
Zelij Invent is a green tech solution that sorts plastic waste and transforms it into eco-friendly and sustainable paving blocks and other design-like construction products.