WildyNess
Headquarters: Tunis, Tunisia
CEO: Achraf Aouadi
Website: WildyNess
Founding date: 2022
Investment: $300K
Pictured: WildyNess team
WildyNess is a travel marketplace connecting international travelers with immersive, locally led experiences in emerging destinations, away from the mainstream noise. We run across North Africa and the Middle East, starting with Tunisia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. We use technology to co-create every experience with local micro-businesses (guides, guesthouses, artisans and cooks, around 60% of them women-led) and help them streamline their day-to-day operations through technology.
PhocusWire coverage:
Below, we asked co-founder and CEO Achraf Aouadi to share strategic priorities for 2027 and what has been learned since founding.
Strategic goals for 2027
In 2027 we turn a proven model into a scalable one. We're opening our next funding round to invest in product and our teams on the ground. We're growing beyond Tunisia, where most of our demand comes from today, into Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Oman: places travelers are curious about but still find hard to book well. We're scaling B2B, becoming the trusted ground partner for tour operators in Europe and North America who want authentic, responsible product in the region. And we'll give our local partners better digital tools, so they can grow beyond what we send them.
Key lessons learned since founding
First, trust can't be outsourced. Our partners joined us because we showed up, co-designed with them and paid them fairly, not because of a platform. Second, owning the ground operation is what protects the experience. When a flight moves, a booking engine doesn't fix it, our people on the ground do. Third, content compounds. We spent almost nothing on paid marketing early on, and organic search still drives the large majority of our demand, which proved our model.
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