It all started with the knowledge that the Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas was losing a lot of money. “We specialize in energy and software engineering so we decided to develop an application that would help reduce energy consumption significantly,” Maalej says.

He explained the technology saying that they install meters on each of the machines at industrial plants to get a reading on energy consumption which could generate up to 200 results per second.

“The technology is currently being employed by three plants in Tunis. We’re further planning to expand through introducing the idea through holding open days exhibiting the software and how it can dramatically decrease consumption,” Maalej adds.

The company’s business model is rather simple as described my Maalej. “We only garner 25% of the total cost we save a certain industry, with no extra fees,” he explains.

M2M also participates in conferences and seminars to spread its concept and vision. And despite sustaining the business through his own means, Maalej is equally on the lookout for funding opportunities.

Maalej was part of the SwitchMed Incubation Program and says it has largely helped set his green business plan. “They helped me define what my target audience is as well as foresee the impact of my initiative on the environment,” he notes.