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“The idea was to create a friendly community where people could sell and buy items safely”. That’s the main reason behind Dabchy.com, an online community in Tunisia able to buy and sell second-hand clothes through an app that offers a door-to-door delivery system. Its founder, Ameni Mansouri, had the chance to join the webinar organised on the 4th of March by STAND Up! to explain how the project gives support to eco-innovative ventures and spread the word about the still opened call for eco-innovative entrepreneurs of the textile sector.

In her own words, Mansouri shared with the attendants that there is a real need in Tunisia and the circular economy is booming in the region. “Dabchy is a product designed for our customers by our customers”, she said in a statement. That’s the main motivation behind the project that in less than 3 months after its launch, it already had more than 4.000 ‘dabchouchas’ registered in the platform and now, overcoming the amount of 500.000 dabhouchas.

The story began when Ameni Mansouri, a fashionista, Oussema Mahjoub, a web developer and Ghazi Ketata, an IT security consultant, were studying in France and had their careers in large French companies. They all shared the same dream, which was creating a project in Tunisia. One day, during a coffee chat, they decided to come back home and get into entrepreneurship. They created a friendly community for people to buy and sell clothes from home, and chose Dabchy as the name of the project.

Social, friendly, innovative and reliable. That’s how Mansouri describes Dabchy. “We are securing the whole process online, offering a free return, a door-to-door delivery system and most of all, we have a powerful community driven by the same passion for fashion and sustainability”, she pointed out. What makes them special is that Dabchy is operating as trusted third party for each transaction, so sellers are guaranteed to receive their money and buyers are protected from unpleasant surprises when receiving items.

The founder of the project ensures that the fashion industry is now the second most polluting industry in the world after oil. In her own vision, in fashion people are embracing the share-versus-own mentality, and consumers (specially millennials and the Z generation), are becoming increasingly and environmentally more conscious and value-oriented. “They’re seeking out companies that employ sustainable practices and becoming more comfortable wearing used clothing”, said Mansouri.

In addition, people are increasingly adhering to the circular fashion movement and they are recycling, reusing and repurposing their wardrobes to extend the life cycle of their clothing by refashioning and redesigning them into fashion stores. “Dabchy, as a pioneer in disrupting the fashion industry in Tunisia, aspires to twist the mindset through dedicated efforts to promote sustainable fashion values”, highlighted Mansouri.

The support of incubators, key to start Dabchy circular business

“Incubators helped a lot, especially in terms of mentorship and network”, explained Mansouri. The mentorship in all fields related to marketing, business and technology helped iterate upon Dabchy product, discover its customers and set realistic business expectations and milestones.

This is exactly what is doing STAND Up! with the launch of the ‘Call for entrepreneurs and eco-innovative business projects’, that has recently extended its deadline for applications until the next 31^st of March. “The network was really important for the development of our start-up, this is one thing that money alone can not offer”, said Mansouri.

If you have an eligible sustainable idea in Egypt, Italy, Tunisia, Spain or Lebanon and aim to scale your business idea, do not hesitate to apply for the STAND Up! call, set up within an EU-funded project under ENICBCMED framework.