A study financed by the European Union has made a very precise diagnosis of the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem in Tunisia. The experts focused on three components: strengthening the support structures and the sponsors of innovative projects, supporting the implementation of a regulatory and financing framework for innovative entrepreneurship and showcasing the innovative entrepreneurship support ecosystem .
The study, which has been republished by South.EUNeighbours website, is primarily intended for learning purposes, as it seeks to explain the main levers or obstacles to the development of an ecosystem in favor of innovative entrepreneurship, as well as the contribution of this ecosystem to economic growth.
The study covers the period 2011-2021. However, while its objective is to identify the main stages in the development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Tunisia since 2011, the study focuses primarily on the 2018-2021 sub-period, which is characterized by the adoption and implementation of the new regulatory framework aimed at facilitating the creation and development of start-ups, the Startup Act.
Whether limited or radical, innovation can therefore concern the product (product appearance, technical content), the production process (modification of production tools or technologies to improve productivity or quality), the organization (adoption of advanced management methods, new ways of organizing work, a change in strategic direction) or marketing (design or packaging, placement, promotion or pricing) (categories of innovation according to the Oslo Manual).
Although the study could not provide an exhaustive account of the various stages of putting innovative entrepreneurship on the agenda in Tunisia, it is clear that it is closely linked to the changes brought about by the 2011 revolution. The Jasmine Revolution highlighted the socio-economic inequalities in Tunisian society and, in particular, the problem of access to employment for young people, especially graduates.
A huge undertaking
The promotion of innovative entrepreneurship as a solution to youth unemployment is an area in which various international organizations have made representations to the national authorities.
Tunisia is at a critical stage in its transition. To succeed, it must tackle the major problems of unemployment and poverty, which particularly affect young people in a country with a relatively young population.
There are currently around 200,000 unemployed graduates in Tunisia, with a further 80,000 graduates looking for work each year.
At the same time, the Tunisian economy is characterized by an economic fabric made up of traditional businesses operating in traditional sectors with low growth and few opportunities for income generation, and therefore needs to open up to new technologies, products and markets.
Creating jobs for young people and transforming the economy are two sides of the same coin, a challenge that only entrepreneurship can meet (OECD, 2012).
The period 2011-2015 was marked by an initial surge of entrepreneurial projects that encountered obstacles related to the inadequacy of the regulatory framework and the limited number of support structures.
It was found that there were a large number of different challenges. The ecosystem had broken down and we had to create small pressure groups.
Putting the difficulties faced by innovative entrepreneurs on the agenda was a movement, initially based on civil society initiatives.
This momentum was then taken up at government level by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which in February 2016 launched a collegial debate on a number of key issues (regulatory framework, education and training, taxation, etc.).
The formulation of the new national strategy for start-ups was then entrusted to a task force composed of four representatives of civil society and chaired by the director of an investment fund, which presented a first version of the Startup Act in June 2016.
The increase in the number of donor support programs for innovative entrepreneurship coincided with the process of drafting and adopting the Startup Act.
This is mainly due to the fact that donors have launched new programs on this topic in order to support this regulatory initiative and make it operational.
