The African Network of Social and Solidarity Economy (RAESS), represented by its Secretary General, Mrs. MEMONG MENO Epse MPOUNG Elise Pierrette, brilliantly represented African civil society at the International Forum on Social and Solidarity Economy and Social Innovation in Tunisia. Organized under the High Patronage of the Tunisian government and supported by the ILO, the event took place from May 26 to May 28, 2025, in Tunis, as part of the International Year of Cooperatives. 

RAESS was the only civil society organization invited as a panelist and presented its flagship program JEUN’ESS Afrique, an innovative intervention model dedicated to youth. The program is currently seeking funding to support 5,000 beneficiaries across the continent. Through this presentation, the audience gained a better understanding of the concept’s origins, which have been widely embraced, including by the ILO, which supports multiple youth-led initiatives in various sectors in Tunisia. 

During different sessions and the closing ceremony, RAESS’ Secretary General emphasized the importance of leveraging Tunisia’s successes to scale them up at the Pan-African level. She notably proposed the creation of the FEMM’ESS concept to further highlight and promote initiatives led by women, who are also key stakeholders in SSE. This ingenuity was highly praised by the audience. 

Beyond her participation in the forum, Mrs. MPOUNG MENO held fruitful discussions with several senior ILO officials, including the Deputy Regional Director for Africa, the ILO Director for the Maghreb, and representatives from the ILO offices in Geneva, North Africa, and Tunisia. These exchanges paved the way for a strategic partnership to implement continental projects. Concrete collaboration avenues were explored, including integrating RAESS and RIPESS into the capitalization process designed by the ILO to disseminate best practices inspired by the Tunisian model. 

This mission opens promising prospects for the future of SSE in Africa and reaffirms RAESS’ central role as a key civil society actor in social innovation across the continent. 

  Issued in Yaoundé, on June 12, 2025

Mrs. Elise Pierrette Memong Meno, Secretary General of RAESS (African Network for the Promotions of Social Solidarity Economy), representative of RAESS in the RIPESS Board of Directors, President of RESSCAM in Cameroon