We believe that travel has the power to transform lives. Our experiences facilitate meaningful interactions between travellers and locals and foster empathy. Travellers become inspired, locals empowered, and their projects find unique economic support that is key for them to thrive.

Achraf and Rim are software engineers by profession and love travelling. It is in nature and hiking that they find a balance to their computer jobs. Yet, the two often struggled to find and book authentic travel experiences. Their business “WildyNess” was born out of this very lack – and out of their love for their home country Tunisia, its cultural richness, its people and their hospitality. WildyNess shows travellers the true essence and the hidden gems of Tunisia by co-creating immersive travel experiences with local people.  

In other words, WildyNess practices a participative form of sustainable tourism that supports small, local businesses in the tourism sector that often lack the resources and know-how to effectively market themselves. WildyNess also provides an online platform for these businesses to reach a wider audience, increase their bookings, and grow their income. Experiences available on the platform range from “nature breaks” in a remote forest with “24 hours of total disconnection from the everyday noise” to workshops with locals that give travellers an idea of the country’s traditions, be it the art of distillation of Rose and Geranium essences in a private home or leather crafting in the Medina of Tunis.  

Since its launch in 2021, WildyNess has partnered with more than 100 local micro-businesses in Tunisia and has curated more than 150 off-the-beaten-path travel experiences across the whole country. But the duo is far from their final destination. In 2024 they focussed on sales to get the proof that their business really works – even without support initiatives like “Business Ideas for Development” and grants which they received in the early start-up phase. Currently, WildyNess receives support from “500 Global”, one of the biggest international accelerator programmes focussing on tech companies that are thinking globally. “Looking back, all the grants we received were very helpful. They gave us security and plenty of time to study the market profoundly. But then we were at a point at which we simply had to make sure that we can rely on our own,” explains Achraf.  

Seeing that their business really works gave Achraf and Rim the freedom to quit their jobs in Germany and concentrate fully on their business venture. Achraf adds: “After 2024 we had, for the first time, tangible figures and successes to show, not just promising words. This enabled us to attract external investors and take the next step to expand the company. We just finished our first fundraising round that went really well.”  

Achraf and Rim have recently moved to Dubai for the upcoming expansion phase of their business. Five of their staff will continue to work in Tunisia. The United Arabic Emirates, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Oman are the new destinations that WildyNess will be offering soon in order to enrich the lives of both travellers and locals. 

Founding our company has been an amazing journey so far and like on every journey we are constantly learning new things, including about ourselves. Myself, for example, I learnt that I had a quite unhealthy relationship with money. I was always extra-cautious, putting safety first. But as a start-up, you should try things out in order to find out if they actually work in reality. That's exactly what we're doing now.

Achraf Aouadi