Born in May 1889 in Tunis to a bourgeois family, he studied at Sadiki College that he left after the brutal death of his father.

Thanks to his paternal friend Abdeljelil Zaouche, he worked in his flour mill and obtained a diploma as a chartered accountant, which opened the doors of the Tunisian Trade Union, the first specifically Tunisian economic organization, founded by Djerbian traders in 1912 on the initiative of Zaouche.

It was during his stay in France that he met Abdelaziz Thâalbi in July 1919 at the Hotel de la Marne in Marseille.

For this, he organized a trip to Egypt, Syria, Palestine and Lebanon, aiming at the reopening of the Middle Eastern market which was the first trading partner of Tunisia before the protectorate.

During his stay in Egypt, he met Talaat Harb, considered as the founding father of the Egyptian economy, who made him visit his main factories including Mehala Kubra (large center of spinning and weaving).