Southern Tunisia is renowned for its dunes, palm oases and – most notably – its delicious dates. With the support of USAID Mashrou3i, agripreneurs like Mohamed Tahar Jaziri are finding innovative ways to process and add value to this important local product.
Launched in April 2019, Jektis Agro offers a variety of date derivatives mainly for export, including jam, syrup and date sugar – a natural, healthy sugar substitute.
USAID Mashrou3i assisted Mohamed Tahar Jaziri in overcoming administrative and accounting hurdles to successfully launch his business. The project’s regional experts are also supporting the entrepreneur to gain certification in two essential food standards for accessing the US and European markets – the British Retail Consortium Standard (BRC) and the International Food Standard (IFS).
“Getting both these certifications is important for us to access export markets,” explains Mohamed enthusiastically. “Many steps are required which involved a lot of time and investment. But today, thanks to USAID Mashrou3i, we’ve almost finished the process and have already achieved 90% of all the standards required for these certifications.”
Located in the free trade zone of Zarzis, Jektis Agro currently employs 33 people, all from the region of Medenine, and plans to recruit an additional 27 people in October. Around 90% of the workforce is women, making a positive social and economic impact in the region.
Learn more about USAID Mashrou3i supported businesses in Southern Tunisia in this article: https://mashrou3i.tn/en/news/mashrou3i-in-focus-business-in-southern-tunisia/
