42 more Tunisian startups obtained, on Friday, the “Startup Label” issued by Minister of Communication Technologies, Nizar Ben Neji, during a ceremony held at the ministry’s headquarters.
The label is part of the “Startup Tunisia” programme, a national initiative which aims to make Tunisia a country of Startups at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, the MENA region and Africa, reads a statement of the ministry.
The Startup Label is a label of merit granted to any company under Tunisian law which meets the labeling criteria.
The «Startup Tunisia» programme is part of the National Strategic Plan Digital Tunisia 2016-2021. It was renewed within the framework of the National Digital Transformation Strategy 2021-2025. It seeks to enable Tunisian startups to succeed regionally and globally as well as attract entrepreneurs and companies from Africa and the Mediterranean region.
This program is based on three main pillars. First, there is the Startup Act, promulgated on April 17, 2018. It is a legal framework dedicated to the promotion of startups launching in Tunisia or settling there. It is based on a merit label and a series of benefits and incentives in favor of entrepreneurs, startups and investors.
The second pillar is «Startup Invest», an investment framework to create a solid and dynamic Venture Capital (VC) industry. This framework is based on 3 instruments: the ANAVA Fund of Funds, a Management Company Incubator, and the Startup Guarantee Fund.
The third pillar is «Startup Empower», a support scheme dedicated to Startups and Ecosystem Support Structures (SSO). This plan involves 3 missions: funding startups and SSOs, running the ecosystem, and international connections.
The implementation of «Startup Tunisia» was entrusted to the company Smart Capital, a management company approved by the Financial Markets Council.
As part of this programme, any labeled startup has the right to open a special account in foreign currencies. Labeled startups are also exempt from corporate tax and are considered approved economic operators under the Customs Code. They are also exempt from the approval and technical control procedures for imports of the CERT (Centre for Studies and Research in Telecommunication) and benefit from technological cards.
