huffingtonpost.co.uk - 

"Together, we are building a creativity economy in a region whose young people are an asset, not a liability."

I'm standing in the old Iraqi embassy of Tunis, newly transformed into Cogite, the country's first co-working space. I was drawn to our host, Houssem Aoudi, when I spotted him across the room in a Dismaland t-shirt. He tells me of his love for Banksy and a recent trip to the artist's dystopian themepark in Weston-Super-Mare. He's decided he has to bring it to Tunisia. I can see how pertinent and poignant it could be amongst the faded glamour of forgotten amusement parks and empty seaside resorts, now that the holiday season is over.

Aoudi is co-founder of Cogite, set up just after the Revolution in 2011 with the hope to be more than just an alternative to the traditional office for the digital workforce. It calls itself a 'Community of do-ers' and has become an oasis for a growing number of social impact-driven entrepreneurs and organisations, contributing to the country's transformation to a more democratic and open society.

"It's a space of engaging citizens aiming at creating alternatives", he says. "As entrepreneurs we share a communal sense that it is our duty to construct Tunisia. For me, entrepreneurship is a kind of resistance against unfriendly banking systems and our old-fashioned government. Being an entrepreneur offers us a valve to breath with."