Inès Sghaier

Pioneered e-commerce platforms empowering Tunisian women entrepreneurs through digital marketplaces

Inès Sghaier (born 1982) is a Tunisian entrepreneur who revolutionized women's economic participation through digital innovation. Her 2009 launch of Souqna.com created North Africa's first e-commerce platform exclusively for women-owned businesses. This groundbreaking initiative provided 5,000+ vendors with digital tools to reach global markets by 2015. Inès' 2013 partnership with World Economic Forum expanded her model to Morocco and Algeria, establishing a regional network of 20,000+ women entrepreneurs by 2020. Her 2016 IESE Business School case study detailed how Souqna's microfinance integration reduced startup costs by 60%, a model now replicated in 7 countries. Inès' 2018 TED Talk ('Digital Marketplaces as Liberation Tools') highlighted how her platform increased Tunisian women's income by 300% in 5 years. Her 2021 launch of Tech4Women provided free coding training to 8,000+ participants, producing 200+ female app developers. Inès' 2023 collaboration with EU's DG Employment established digital cooperatives in 15 Mediterranean cities. With 12 patents for her payment security systems and 40% of Tunisia's online SMEs now women-led (2022 stats), Inès' work has transformed economic landscapes while challenging traditional gender roles in MENA regions. Her 2024 initiative to connect 100,000 North African women with global supply chains via blockchain technology continues this transformative legacy.