The Tunisian government is working on a national strategy to promote small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Minister of Economy and Planning Samir Abdelhafidh said on Friday.
Speaking at a workshop on institutional governance and the legal framework for SMEs held in Gammarth (northern suburb of Tunis), he added that this strategy aims to make SMEs a fundamental vector for growth, job creation and sustainable development.
The new Minister of Economy and Planning highlights key role of the private sector
It therefore enshrines the key role of the private sector in the national economy and the constitutional principle of a State that seeks to achieve complementarity between the public and private sectors on the basis of social justice,” the Minister added.
The ‘new Samir’ of the same Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP) went on to say that this strategy would enable SMEs to contribute more effectively to the construction and development of a strong economy.
Abdelhafidh also pointed out that the main lines of this national strategy were presented at a Cabinet meeting (CM) dedicated to the elements of the strategy to promote SMEs on 3 July.
Samir Abdelhafidh’s 6-point strategy for SMEs
The participatory methodology adopted led to the identification of six strategic areas for the development of the strategy, namely institutional governance and the regulatory framework for SMEs, market access and competition, access to finance, internationalization and integration into global value chains, access to non-financial resources, entrepreneurship and support, innovation and exploitation of new niches in areas such as the green, blue and digital economy.
The Minister for Economic Affairs took the opportunity to highlight the State’s commitment and efforts to support SMEs. These efforts have resulted, among other things, in legislation and incentive mechanisms, the creation of support and monitoring bodies, and the development of a range of financial products, some of which are offered by institutions dedicated to SMEs.
The legal framework for SMEs in Tunisia is still rather complex and scattered over several texts, according to the Minister, who pointed out that the number of administrative structures and bodies offering services to SMEs is high and that there is a lack of coordination between their actions.
A strategy with no specific measures announced, to be validated in CM
And while the minister said that ‘the effectiveness of public intervention in favor of SMEs has not always been subject to objective evaluation’, the director general in charge of monitoring and evaluating reforms to improve the business climate at the Ministry of the Economy, Mohamed Ben Abid, announced that a steering committee would be set up to ensure the development of the national strategy for the promotion of SMEs.
Six thematic workshops will also be organized by the Ministry of Economy to finalize and implement an action plan for this strategy,” he said, adding that this national strategy will then be validated by a Cabinet meeting.
Rim Zelfani, Director of the General Directorate for Monitoring and Evaluation of Reforms to Improve the Business Climate at the Ministry of the Economy, stressed the importance of optimizing institutional governance and the regulatory framework for the sustainable development of SMEs in Tunisia.
Pillars, resilience, governance, structures, processes; all talk and no action
In her view, these elements serve as fundamental pillars for improving resilience and fostering economic growth. She also explained that institutional governance includes the structures and processes needed to ensure that businesses are managed efficiently, fairly and transparently.
In Tunisia, public institutions, regulatory bodies and public-private partnerships play a central role in shaping the business landscape, she said, adding that sound institutional governance fosters a favorable business environment by increasing investor confidence and facilitating access to finance.
This workshop marks the beginning of the development of the SME support strategy.
