Africa economy - In Tunisia, Vakay glasses see far

2022-03-09T23:31:10.209Z

In Tunisia, despite the sluggish economic climate, some entrepreneurs manage to impose themselves. This is the case of the Tunisian eyewear brand Vakay, created in 2014. It is worn by two young…

Africa economy

In Tunisia, Vakay glasses see far

Audio 02:18

Adam Jabeur, co-founder of Vakay.

By: Lilia Blaise Follow

2 mins

In Tunisia, despite the sluggish economic climate, some entrepreneurs manage to impose themselves.

This is the case of the Tunisian eyewear brand Vakay, created in 2014. It is worn by two young people who have bet on the high end and a design in homage to Africa.

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From our correspondent in Sfax,

The noises of the machines are reminiscent of those of an industrial factory, but in the premises of Vakay in Sfax, a city in eastern Tunisia, it is above all a work of goldsmith, calibrated to the nearest millimeter to achieve Tunisian luxury glasses.

Adam Jabeur, one of the co-founders, shows us around.

Here, we start by preparing the raw material, so it's about calibrating the wood materials, cutting and calibrating the acetate plates, since now we're using a mix of materials

," he explains.

Then he adds:

It's our touch, the identity of our brand, it's the use of wood as such and we use natural essences, this wood for example is not colored, it's purely natural .

An entrepreneurial adventure

In addition to being distributed to a hundred opticians in Tunisia, Vakay is also exported to the United States and the Middle East.

Thanks to its original identity, imagined by Soulaimen, the other founder of the brand, an industrial designer by training.

We were inspired by Berber graphics, the African style, to make the designs

," says Soulaimen Ghorbel.

In 2013, nothing predestined Adam, accountant and Soulaimen to create a brand of glasses.

Eager for entrepreneurial adventures, these young people set off with two teammates and designed their first pair in a garage with 300 euros in capital, in a country where the eyewear industry did not exist.

In terms of raising funds it was not easy, in terms of accessing capital from banks, so there it was in vain because when they see young, inexperienced entrepreneurs, say, in their twenties, they don't believe in that idea

A turnover that has quadrupled in eight years

Eight years and two major fundraisers later, their turnover has quadrupled.

The two founders were able to find a place in the luxury market with glasses that cost at least 200 euros a pair and that rival models imported from major brands.

A know-how that they transmit to their employees whose average age is 28 years old.

“

We always prefer those who have had manual experience

,” explains Adam Jabeur.

There are craftsmen who have worked in wood, craftsmen who have worked in pastry, there are even craftsmen who have worked in jewelery because we have this aspect of detail, and we have to master all these aspects there.

See this post on Instagram

A post shared by VAKAY.

(@vakay_eyewear)

A sense of detail that is available.

Vakay will launch another brand, La Vida Loca, more affordable glasses in acetate but with the same quality and craftsmanship that has made them successful.

Africa economy - In Tunisia, Vakay glasses see far

In Tunisia, Vakay glasses see far

An entrepreneurial adventure

A turnover that has quadrupled in eight years

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