The study “CEO 50 – Priorities of Tunisian Leaders amid Instability” is a 2025 survey conducted by the Arab Institute of Business Leaders (IACE) among 50 CEOs of major Tunisian companies from strategic sectors of the economy.
It aimed to understand how business leaders perceive the current Tunisian economic and institutional environment and what their priorities are in the face of persistent uncertainty in the country.
Resilience yes; Investment? Still hesitant
The survey highlights the resilience of the Tunisian private sector: 62% of companies reported meeting their profitability targets in 2024 despite a complex and unstable macroeconomic environment.
This performance reflects the ability of businesses to maintain operations and generate positive financial results even when future prospects are uncertain.
However, this resilience does not automatically translate into aggressive investment: leaders remain cautious in their strategic and financial decisions.
Regulatory and fiscal uncertainty: Structural barriers to growth
A key finding of the study is that, despite overall performance, many structural obstacles continue to limit companies’ ability to invest, innovate, and plan long-term. These obstacles include:
Regulatory and fiscal uncertainty: fluctuating taxes and lack of clarity on rule changes hinder strategic planning and increase risk aversion.
Administrative burdens: slow and complex procedures reduce business agility and generate significant time and resource costs.
Limited access to productive financing: about 27% of CEOs said access to credit, especially for innovative or high-value projects, remains insufficient.
High perceived informal competition: this pressures margins and reduces incentives to invest in quality or productive transformation.
A fragile innovation ecosystem: insufficient links between research centers, universities, and the productive sector limit the adoption of new technologies and upgrading capabilities.
Defensive investment strategies
CEOs tend to pursue defensive investment strategies rather than deep transformations. Capital allocation reflects this caution:
46% of investment goes to replacing depreciated equipment, 33% to expanding existing operations, 12% to innovation and 9% to diversification
This distribution shows that much of the resources are used to maintain or consolidate existing activities rather than explore new opportunities or develop innovative products and services.
IACE Recommendations
To turn this defensive resilience into sustainable growth, IACE offers several targeted recommendations for the government:
Stabilize the regulatory and fiscal framework to restore investor confidence and reduce strategic uncertainty.
Simplify administrative procedures to lower costs and compliance times, for example through digitization and one-stop shops.
Strengthen productive financing, especially for innovative and high-value projects, to support growth and competitiveness.
Promote technological innovation by supporting research ecosystems and facilitating partnerships between businesses and universities.
Summary of an IACE study
