Abaya – a robe-like dress worn by some Muslim women – is typically imported by Tunisia from the Middle East. While researching online, Sabrine Hammami realized that she could match the price of these suppliers but offer better quality and customized designs.
Through paid advertising on social media, Sabrine was already raising awareness of her brand among her target audience. To help boost her promotion efforts, the young entrepreneur from Zaghouan took part in a digital marketing workshop offered by USAID Mashrou3i. There she learned online design tools to improve her brand messaging and outreach.
“The digital marketing training was very important to me. Before I was simply throwing some content together for my brand’s social media pages. Today, thanks to the help of USAID Mashrou3i, my posts look more professional and clearly explain the value of my products.”
To help reach new markets, USAID Mashrou3i financed Sabrine’s participation in a specialized trade fair in Sfax and has also provided her with training in accounting.
With a factory in Zaghouan and three retail outlets in Tunis, Abaya Royal de Luxe already employs 23 people and has customers from all over Tunisia and is shipping products to France, Canada, Algeria and Nigeria. The ambitious business woman is preparing a franchise agreement for Morocco and is about to expand operations with a second factory in Zaghouan, dedicated entirely to embroidery on Abayas.