Zeineb Chabchoub
A global startup ecosystem builder with experience across North Africa, Europe, and the U.S.
Starting my journey as a startup founder shaped how I show up to my work: a high degree of ownership,
strong organizational citizenship, and—most importantly—genuine compassion for founders.
I’ve worked closely with founders from diverse backgrounds, across geographies and academic paths,
including university spin-outs, experienced professionals, and newly graduated founders.
My north star is to help founders create value and reach markets and capital without losing momentum.
I am driven by curiosity and a strong enthusiasm for solving problems, making sense of complexity, and building things from scratch.
Languages: English · Arabic · French
References could be provided upon request — request a reference via meeting .
Awards & Leadership
Northern Africa Coordinator
Accelerate Africa
January 2025 – Present
Fulbright Scholar
U.S. Department of State
2024 – 2026
Vice President, Sponsorships
IIBA Utah Chapter
January 2025 – December 2025
Jurist
European Startup Prize for Mobility
March – October 2023
The Most Inspirational Mentor Ambassador Award
The Human Edge
2022
Selected Projects
The University of Utah
Doman Innovation Studio
My role. Research Associate / Project Lead
Challenge. Founder support at the University of Utah is rich: programs, labs, mentors, and funding existed across campus, yet there was no shared, high-level view to help founders, operators, or investors navigate what support existed, when, and how.
What we built. The U Venture Ecosystem Map (2025)
A strategy and navigation tool combining a visual representation and a back-office database, mapping 100+ programs across 30+ university entities, informed by 30+ interviews with program leads, faculty, and ecosystem operators.
Results. Clearer founder pathways and faster navigation across campus; improved cross-team alignment around founder outcomes rather than program ownership; and a shared institutional understanding of how founder support actually operates day to day, turning referrals into coordinated, ecosystem-level support.
GIZ Tunisia
Digital Transformation Center — GIZ Tunisia
Startup Ecosystem Partner & Startup Expert
The Digital Transformation Center’s startup and tech ecosystem thesis was simple:
startups are engines of digital economic growth when capital, markets, and expertise move together.
Through the programs I contributed to and led, this work reached
2,000+ innovators and
30+ startup support organizations.
The projects were structured around three core pillars:
- Access to Capital
- Access to Local & International Markets
- Access to Expertise & Knowledge (Capacity Building)
Access to Finance
Flywheel — National Innovation Fund (2021-2024)
Role. Project Manager (GIZ) & Jury Member
Stakeholders. GIZ · World Bank · CDC (Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations)
Challenge. In an emerging market context like Tunisia, founders faced two critical financing gaps: (1) limited access to friends-and-family capital and weak proof-of-concept funding at the idea stage, and (2) a persistent “valley of death” after the first dilutive round, where maintaining momentum and hitting KPIs required for follow-on funding proved difficult. From an ecosystem perspective, incubators and accelerators also lacked the financial capacity to consistently support founders from ideation through early traction.
What we built. A multi-instrument national innovation fund with clear governance, structured selection and diligence, disciplined disbursement, and KPI-driven monitoring—designed to support both startups and startup support organizations.
Instruments.
- AIR: Proof-of-concept development grants for startups
- AIR²: Investment-readiness grants for early-stage ventures
- DEAL: Program-launch grants for SSOs (up to 200k TND)
- SAIL: Continuity subsidies for high-performing SSOs
Results. Strengthened early-stage financing pathways, improved founder survival through critical transition points, and increased ecosystem performance through sustained funding and KPI-driven accountability.
Access to Local & International Markets
STRIDE — Regional Expansion Program: Tunisia → Africa (2024)
Role. Partnership Manager
Challenge. African markets were geographically close but operationally hard to enter for Tunisian founders.
What we built. A full-funnel expansion pathway: 60 founders trained → 15 expansion-ready cases → 5 concrete market entries, leveraging Westerwelle Foundation hubs in Tunis, Kigali, Mombasa, and Arusha, and integrating Slush’D Tunisia.
Results. 5 Market entries, partner MoUs, and an open-source Market Entry Toolkit.
Open Innovation Initiatives: B2B Startups Sourcing and Matchmaking
Role. Startups Associate
Challenge. B2B startups struggled to break into corporates and SMEs due to slow procurement and unclear entry points.
What we built. Structured open-innovation pathways covering the full journey: business-need definition with corporates; sourcing startups capable of addressing those needs; startup due diligence and matchmaking; relationship management through PoC signature; and clear PoC scoping and procurement pathways.
These pathways were operationalized through the following flagship programs:
- Scan & Match (2022): Public–Private Partnership — GIZ Tunisia & EY
- Link4INN (2023–2024): Grant Agreement — GIZ Tunisia, Tunisian Startups Association, UTICA (Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts)
- Start’N’Trade (2024): Export-oriented open innovation program with CEPEX (Centre de Promotion des Exportations)
Results. 5+ PoCs delivered with exporters, manufacturers, and corporates.
Media: DEMO DAY « Scan & Match » (EY & GIZ Tunisie)
Partnerships & Delegations
Role. Partnerships Delegations Managemment(2021-2024)
Challenge. Increase global visibility and create real routes to investors, pilots, and partners.
What we built. A repeatable delegation and partnership model across major international conferences:
- International delegations: Web Summit (Lisbon 2023), VivaTech (Paris 2022), African Startup Conference (Alger 2023), GITEX Africa (Marrakesh 2023)
- Delegation playbooks: target selection, meeting scripts, and structured follow-ups
- External representation: speaker, moderator, and ecosystem liaison across Europe and Africa
Results. New investor introductions, partner MoUs, and stronger post-event pipelines.
Access to Expertise & Knowledge (Capacity Building)
CoworkUp: Scaling SSO Capacity (2021-2024)
Role. Program Architect & Manager
Challenge. Founder outcomes depend on strong Startup Support Organizations (SSOs), but capacity was uneven.
What we built. A national 12-month capacity-building program (scaled from a 3-month pilot), training 90+ SSO staff and introducing shared tools, processes, and QA standards.
Results. More consistent, higher-quality founder support nationwide.
Go Rise: International Mentoring Program (2021-2022)
Role. Designer & Program Manager
Challenge. Early-stage founders lacked structured access to experienced, international mentors.
What we built. A 5-month mentoring program for 24 tech founders focused on business models, leadership, and expansion planning.
Results. Founders gained structured guidance and practical support to validate strategy and prepare for growth.
Alien Dimension
Alien Dimension — AR EdTech
My role. Co-Founder & Chief Projects Officer (2018-2021)
Context. Alien Dimension is an AR EdTech startup focused on enhancing science learning through curriculum-aligned augmented reality experiences.
Challenge. Bringing augmented reality into real classrooms required aligning pedagogy, technology, and institutional procurement—while proving learning impact and adoption within a short runway.
What we built. Classroom-ready AR learning modules, piloted with universities and curriculum bodies, alongside a lean product and delivery system to test adoption, learning outcomes, and institutional fit.
Results. Built AR-based astronomy and human anatomy courses; partnered with Honoris United Universities and Université Centrale de Tunis to launch an AR-enabled birth lab; raised €150K in pre-seed funding; built and led a 6-person product and marketing team; and delivered live academic pilots validating institutional demand for AR-based learning tools.
Lessons learned. Validate the payer—not just the user. Be ruthless about burn and scope. Write co-founder agreements early. Protect founder energy as a strategic resource. Read more →
Speaking & Media
Slush’D (Djerba, 2024)
AIM Congress (Abu Dhabi, 2024)
GITEX Africa (2023)
African Startup Conference (Algeria, 2023)
