Tunisia Startup Act: Law aims to boost socioeconomic devt., infrastructure

World
Europe

02:28

Countries these days are doing what they can to encourage innovative startups. The North African country of Tunisia is no exception.

Tunisia last year passed a law called the "Startup Act", part of the country's "Digital Tunisia 2020" strategy. CGTN's Adnen Chaouachi checked in to see how the work is going.

33 Tunisian enterprises have been granted the Start-up label, which will allow them to benefit from several incentives aimed at developing their business and research activities.

ANOUAR MAAROUF MINISTER OF COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES & DIGITAL ECONOMY "Each month, a startup portal is opened for one week. The ministry receives and studies applications before granting the label within 4 weeks. The committee can study up to 50 files per month."

The label is issued to innovative projects with the potential to expand and are operating in all economic sectors and is not limited to the ICT.

ANOUAR MAAROUF MINISTER OF COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES & DIGITAL ECONOMY "The goal of these labels is to create 1,000 start-ups and 10 thousand job opportunities in the next five years. We want to create a new dynamic in the field of start-up creation."

The start-up Educanet has created a platform for educational institutions, from preparatory school to university. It is used for management and communication.

ANIS BEN ARBIA FOUNDER, EDUCANET TUNISIA "It's a multi-channel system which uses SMS, mobile technology, the web and the messenger. Our project was welcomed by the jury at the ministry. The start-up label gave us a boost. We'll release a new version of Educanet in September."

President of the start-up act labeling committee explained that the criteria for granting this label, concern the age of the enterprise, which less than 8 years old, its financial ability and its capacity to create jobs, in addition to its independence and capacity for innovation and growth.

ADNEN CHAOUACHI TUNIS, TUNISIA "The new label allows the developer of the start-up to open a bank account in foreign currency that can reach 30,000 dollars to help expand the business internationally. The Tunisian government is endeavoring to create the investment fund and support start-ups in 2019. ADNEN CHAOUACHI, CGTN, TUNIS."