The 38th edition of the Business Days in El Kantaoui, Sousse opened on Thursday, December 5, under the theme “Business and major changes: adaptation and opportunities”.
This major event highlights the challenges and opportunities facing Tunisian businesses in an ever-changing geopolitical context and in the face of a new national economic approach.
Speaking at the event, Bilel Dernaoui, Managing Director of the Société Monétique de Tunisie (SMT), said that the banking sector and the Tunisian Post Office have the technical capacity, human resources and skills needed to improve financial services for customers and reduce the use of cheques in Tunisia.
In a statement to Africanmanager, he explained that some banks have started to introduce new services to find alternatives to the use of cheques.
He said that SMT has officially started offering new services under the name ‘BuyNowPayLater.’
He said this is one of the options being considered to replace cheques, which are facing new restrictive regulations, and is already popular in several countries.
He pointed out that “Tunisian culture has changed, leading to the development of electronic payments and payment systems rather than the use of cheques”, noting that the number of bank cards currently exceeds 6 million.
On another front, he said that the new law on ‘cheques’, due to come into force in February 2025, “presents many difficulties, but it is an opportunity to develop services and innovate in other ways to limit the use of cheques”.
The new law provides for the creation of a platform that allows the beneficiary to check whether the amount written on the cheque is available in the customer’s account and to reserve the amount needed (…) In fact, the period of validity of a cheque under the new law is only 8 days.
Key questions
Participants at the Business Days will have the opportunity to discuss and analyze how companies can adapt to the changes taking place and at the same time use them as a lever to accelerate their growth.
The first day’s program includes a number of key issues for participants to consider, such as the new rules on cheques and bank bonds, geopolitical changes and labor law reforms.
There will also be in-depth workshops where experts will make recommendations to support the development of sectors of the national economy.
For the first time, the event will include the community sector alongside the private and public sectors, underlining the importance of inclusiveness in strategic thinking.
On Saturday, December 7, business leaders will be able to take part in CEO Masterclasses, which will provide practical training on how to integrate decarbonization and artificial intelligence projects into their transformation strategies.
They will also have the opportunity to work on case studies related to climate change, with the aim of highlighting inspiring examples and best practices for a sustainable transition.
In an ever-changing environment, where companies must not only adapt to increasingly complex regulations, but also seize the opportunities offered by new technologies, the Business Days are a key opportunity to anticipate change and use it for strategic transformation.
