Houssem Aoudi

Houssem Aoudi (born 26 January 1984) is a Tunisian entrepreneur. He co-founded Cogite, a coworking space in Tunis, in 2013. He established Wasabi, a media company, in 2013, and Afkar, a civic initiative, in 2015. Aoudi curated TEDxCarthage, Tunisia's first TEDx event, starting in 2010.

 Early Life and Education 
Houssem Aoudi was born on 26 January 1984 in Djerba, Tunisia. He earned an undergraduate degree in marketing from the University of Sousse. He completed a Global MBA in Impact Entrepreneurship through a joint program by Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy, and Centrale University in Tunis, Tunisia. In 2016, Aoudi participated in the Draper Hills Summer Fellows program at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law.

 Career 
In 2010, Aoudi participated in the "White T-shirt" campaign against internet censorship in Tunisia. That year, he co-founded TEDxCarthage, Tunisia’s first TEDx conference. By 2015, TEDxCarthage had thousands of applicants for its events.

In 2013, Aoudi co-founded Cogite Coworking Space in Tunis. Cogite provides workspaces and workshops for entrepreneurs and organizations. In 2016, Cogite was recognized in the context of top coworking spaces by various sources. Also in 2013, he founded Wasabi, a media company. In 2014, he directed the Media Center for the Independent High Authority for Elections during Tunisia’s elections. In 2015, he launched Afkar to support civic projects. In a 2016 interview, he outlined his vision for entrepreneurship in Tunisia.

Aoudi took part in fellowships with the BMW Foundation and the National Endowment for Democracy. In 2012, TED named him a "TED Hero" for his TEDxCarthage contributions.

 Community Initiatives 
Aoudi has supported nonprofit initiatives in arts, education, and youth development. Through Cogite, he organized workshops on entrepreneurship and civic engagement. With Afkar, he led programs mentoring entrepreneurs from the Tunisian diaspora, women in interior regions, and social entrepreneurs. TEDxCarthage, curated by Aoudi, hosted talks on innovation and social topics.

In 2015, Aoudi became the Tunisia Chapter President of the Tunisian American Young Professionals (TAYP), overseeing education and entrepreneurship programs. TAYP Tunisia used a “4 E’s” model (Education, Entrepreneurship, Exchanges, and Export) under his leadership. He was a board member of the Tunisia Foundation for Development, launched in 2016 to address regional inequalities. Aoudi has been associated with French Tech Tunisie and the Global Entrepreneurship Network.

 References 

 Other websites 
 Official Afkar website