From Fashion Statement to the Green Movement: How Ameni Mansouri is Driving Circular Change with Dabchy

For Ameni Mansouri, entrepreneurship is not just about business – it is a vehicle for purpose. A biomedical engineer by training and a fashion enthusiast at heart, Amani took a bold leap from the lab into the startup world with one clear goal: to build a smarter, more sustainable future.

Today, she’s the co-founder and CEO of Dabchy, a circular lifestyle platform that empowers thousands across Tunisia and Egypt to buy, sell, and connect sustainably.

Turning a Marketplace into a Movement

Ameni’s journey began with a simple personal need: a safe, convenient way to sell her clothes online. What started as a practical solution quickly evolved into an impact-driven movement.

“Our mission has always been to make lifestyle consumption more sustainable, inclusive, and community driven. While we started with women’s fashion, Dabchy has grown into a full lifestyle platform, including men’s fashion, home items, sports gear, and books.”

Through Dabchy, users, many of whom are women, can generate income while extending the life of garments, books, sports gear, and home goods. For some, it is a side hustle, for others, a step toward financial independence. What unites them all is the shared impact: reducing waste, promoting reuse, and reshaping digital economies in the MENA region.

Reinventing the Rules of Reuse

Scaling this model, however, was no easy feat. In a region where social commerce was still nascent, building consumer trust and quality assurance for second-hand items were major hurdles. Ameni and her team met the challenge head-on, hacking the C2C value chain by introducing Tunisia’s first-ever door-to-door delivery with a trusted third-party system. This innovation not only streamlined logistics and improved the buyer-seller experience but also brought structure to an otherwise informal market, laying the groundwork for sustainable scaling. Dabchy’s expansion into Egypt brought on new challenges where additional growth, adaptation to new regulations, and refined technology to handle a wider community and increased categories were all required to succeed.

It was during this pivotal phase that Amani came across The Challenge Fund for a Just Transition (CFJT), a CFYE-supported and Hivos led initiative, comprising of seven intermediary partners.

“I discovered CFJT through our entrepreneurial ecosystem and was immediately drawn to the Green4Youth program for its strong focus on green innovation, youth employment, and inclusive entrepreneurship. As the founder of a purpose-driven lifestyle platform, it felt like the perfect fit to help Dabchy scale sustainably, while staying true to our mission.”

CFJT responds to the urgent need for decent jobs among young people in North Africa by supporting 30 green small and growing businesses, helping them to scale rapidly through their network of intermediaries. The aim? To create 10,000 job opportunities for young women and men, while advancing climate resilience in the region and economic inclusion.

For Dabchy, the program provided more than just funding – it reshaped the way the team engaged with the platform’s users. With CFJT’s support, Ameni and her team gathered feedback from women running their small businesses on the platform, co-created new tailored features, and launched tools to help sellers brand their shops, organise their inventory, and improve their digital experience. The program also enabled the team to host training sessions for boosting entrepreneurial and digital skills, resulting in a successful community event that helped sellers increase visibility, sales, and build confidence.

Leading Green from the Inside Out

On a personal level, the experience was a wake-up call. Ameni not only gained new leadership tools ranging from ESG integration to impact measurement but also emerged with a stronger conviction: that sustainability must be intentional, strategic, and systemic. “Technology alone isn’t enough,” she reflects. “To create meaningful, long-term impact, we need to go further: we must support our sellers in structuring and professionalising their activity, helping them unlock their full potential and maximise both their economic and environmental contribution. That’s what real empowerment looks like and that’s what drives me every single day.”

This National Upcycling Day, Ameni’s story reminds us that circular innovation is not about sacrifice, it is about smarter choices that uplift people and the planet. Her advice to other entrepreneurs? “Be deeply connected to your “why.” Let your values guide your business decisions, from team building to monetisation. Sustainability and impact should be part of the DNA, not an afterthought. Start small but stay focused. Measure your impact, listen to your community, and evolve with them. And don’t try to do it alone. Find your tribe, your ecosystem. It will make the journey lighter and more powerful.”

Living the Mission, Leading the Movement

Looking ahead, Ameni envisions Dabchy becoming the leading circular lifestyle platform across Africa and the Middle East. But her ambition does not stop there – she also hopes to mentor young founders, speak on topics like emotional intelligence, and help others navigate the invisible side of leadership. She credits programs like CFJT and CFYE for not just supporting African entrepreneurship but shaping the conditions for long-term transformation.

“Entrepreneurs like us carry bold visions,” she says, “but it’s through programs like this that we learn how to execute them with heart, impact, and strategy.”