The Startup Ecosystem of Tunisia

The Tunisian startup ecosystem is still in the early phase of its development, but the total startup funding raised by the Tunisian tech startups increased significantly in 2022. The Tunisian government is well aware of the importance of creating startup hubs and has introduced the startup support organization Startup Tunisia. The organization passed a Startup Act in 2018, which is a legal framework designed to boost innovation and foster entrepreneurship. Another initiative of Startup Tunisia, Startup Label, is a special status that enables startups to be exempted from capital gain tax for up to eight years.
Many international organizations support the startup ecosystem in Tunisia. For instance, the World Bank is providing support to women and SME development in Tunisia through the Innovative Startups and SME Project, and actively supports Startup Tunisia. It has launched two SME funds through the Tunisia Innovative Startups and SMEs Project. The first one is InnovaTech, which focuses on investments in digital media innovation and technology, renewable energy, agribusiness, ICT, media and ecommerce, and digital transformation. The second one is a joint fund of the World Bank, Smart Capital, the CDC, and the GIZ called Anava Fund of Funds, which aims to invest more than 13 venture capital funds dedicated to startups in seed and early stages.
With proximity to the Middle East, the rest of Africa, and Europe, Tunisia has the ability to make far reaching international business connections. To grow, Tunisia’s startup ecosystem needs to achieve a critical mass of high quality startups.