Tunis: Minister of Women, Family, Children and the Elderly Amel Belhaj Moussa handed over on Wednesday a batch of financing notices for new 219 women-led projects worth TND 2.3 million under the RAIDET national programme for the promotion of women's entrepreneurship. "The funding will help create some 358 direct jobs," she indicated, adding that "20% of the recepient women are higher-education graduates and 80% have professional qualification or specialiased training." The overall number of projects funded by the RAIDET programme has risen to 3,898 since the launch of the programme in December 2022, she indicated, pointing out that these projects have contributed to the creation of 5,963 direct jobs thanks to funding worth over TND 37.9 million. Since its launch in August 2022, the RAIDET online platform have received over 16,800 funding requests. The ministry is currently considering a further 1,000 requests for funding or creation of projects, she said, specifying that the various projects funded in var ious regions across Tunisia are classified as follows: 74% small businesses, 21% services, 3% agriculture, 2% trade and 1% handicrafts. Monastir took the lion's share with 20 projects, followed by Sfax (17), Ariana (16), Medenine and Zaghouan (12 each), Gabes, Nabeul, Bizerte and Tunis (11 each), Kasserine, Kairouan, Jendouba, Ben Arous, Sidi Bouzid, Beja, Gafsa, Manouba, Tozeur, Kebili, Mahdia, Tataouine, Sousse and Siliana (between 4 and 10). Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse