The Ambition of a "Tunisian Silicon Valley" Tested by Reality
Present in Tunisia for nearly 40 years, the electronics sector—a recognized player in electronic card wiring and electrical cable harness manufacturing—has undergone a silent yet spectacular transformation. Didier Breyton, a pioneer in the industry, decodes the value-added upgrade of a sector that has become a true hub for advanced engineering. He outlines the roadmap for a resilient industry determined to forge the champions of tomorrow.
You have been running your business in Tunisia for nearly four decades. What was the catalyst for this establishment, and how did you navigate major crises?
The adventure began in 1987 with the creation of our family project. I arrived in Tunisia as the technical manager of our family business. Very early on, in the early 1990s, we suffered the sudden loss of our main client. While I was advised to shut down, I chose to persist. Almost 40 years later, we employ around 100 people and continue to move forward. Initially, our establishment was based on a classic economic arbitrage: producing electronic cards at competitive costs compared to Europe while facilitating technology transfer. It was a bet on the future.
Law 72 is often presented as a boon for foreign investors. What is your perspective on this regulatory framework?
In my view, there is a misunderstanding regarding how the benefits granted under Law 72 are interpreted today. The tax exemptions implemented at the time were not simply a "gift" to foreign investors. They responded to an economic reality: in a high-tech sector like electronics, Tunisia did not then have the industrial ecosystem, the supplier chain, or the specialized skills necessary. It was therefore essential to compensate for the extra costs and risk levels borne by the first investors who contributed, practically ex nihilo, to building this value chain. The legislator’s choice was to encourage private investment to gradually foster this industrial environment. Today, this ecosystem exists, has become denser, and likely constitutes one of the main strategic assets of the Tunisian electronics sector. A serious international investor no longer looks solely at tax incentives: they primarily seek an ecosystem capable of securing and supporting their activity.
How has the Tunisian electronics industry evolved from simple subcontracting to high-value-added engineering?
The transformation has been exponential. At the end of the 1980s, our role was limited to mastering the manufacturing know-how for electronic cards. About 15 years ago, we witnessed a strategic rupture: the emergence of design offices and R&D departments, driven by Tunisian and foreign engineers. Tunisian talent and creativity were present, but they lacked material anchoring. Previously, manufacturing a prototype required importing components from China, without local technical mastery. Today, the value chain is complete: from theoretical design to plastics, fine sheet metal, surface treatments, and assembly to international standards. We have moved from basic components to the integration of exportable finished products. Electronics is, by definition, an "invisible" industry: we are at the heart of machines but invisible to the general public. Yet, we now manufacture robots in Tunisia, calculators for artificial intelligence, and components for autonomous cars and buses. When I speak to authorities, they often discover the scale of these achievements with surprise. It must be said clearly: if Tunisia stopped its electronics and wiring production today, entire sectors of the European economy would be paralyzed. Tunisia is no longer just doing assembly; it has become a strategic link in Europe’s industrial competitiveness and sovereignty.
What is today’s main obstacle to the international expansion of Tunisian tech champions?
The bottleneck is no longer technical; it is regulatory and financial. It is absurd that today, export commercialization, international e-commerce, or access to platforms like PayPal remain blocked by obsolete foreign exchange regulations. Tunisia produces excellent technology but self-limits commercially due to a lack of monetary reforms.
In terms of competitiveness, how do you position the Tunisian offer?
The success story of Tunisian electronics rests on a 40-year foundation. The maturity of our ecosystem, the density of our design offices, and the responsiveness of our engineers give us a clear lead over Morocco in this specific sector. Today, the model is so mature that some Tunisian electronics companies no longer just export: they invest and create subsidiaries abroad. This is proof of a consolidated win-win model that must now be protected and propelled forward.
Internationally, how do you position Tunisia against Morocco, Eastern Europe, or Asia?
On a purely technical level, we have nothing to envy Eastern Europe, and we are objectively more performant than our Moroccan competitors. The real battlefield lies in logistics costs. Today, every disruption in the logistics chain destroys value. The motto for any manager must be fluidity: how to get goods out of the factory and deliver them as quickly as possible worldwide? To reach the next level, Tunisia has a critical need for a deep-water port. Without this major infrastructure, it is impossible to host a major automotive manufacturer, as shipping capacities via small vessels are exceeded. This is the entire point of the pact we signed with the authorities: to direct public investments toward these strategic de-isolation infrastructures.
Bureaucracy and customs procedures are regularly criticized. How do you manage these constraints on a daily basis?
Tunisia remains a paradox: the heaviness of procedures is matched by remarkable human commitment. Certain rigidities, such as the unavailability of Tunisie Trade Net on weekends, are difficult to reconcile with the requirements of international trade. If the system holds, it is often thanks to the mobilization of employees and dedicated civil servants. The urgency now is to complete the digitalization of procedures, particularly online payment of duties.
Beyond logistics, what regulatory locks hinder the value-added upgrade of companies in Tunisia?
The most anachronistic brake lies in the Central Bank’s regulations, particularly Note No. 3 of 1983, which separates companies into "resident" and "non-resident" status. This is a heresy. We employ the same skills, operate in the same territory, and serve the same markets. This duality creates absurdities: resident companies are penalized in the purchase of local components or the settlement of suppliers, which hinders local integration. Furthermore, the arbitrary reversal of these rules, such as the re-evaluation of non-resident status after two years of operation, forces managers into complex legal structures to maintain their activity. If we unified these regulatory frameworks, Tunisia would double its industrial capacity and export revenue.
The integration of cutting-edge technologies often requires international expertise. Is this skills transfer fluid?
Unfortunately, no, due to a poorly thought-out social reform. Since 2017, Tunisia has required foreign experts to contribute to the local CNSS (National Social Security Fund) at 26% of their salary, without any prior impact study. This is short-sighted: to obtain a pension in Tunisia, one must contribute for at least 10 years. An international expert coming to install a production line for 5 or 6 years ends up paying a contribution that is a total loss, while having to maintain their coverage in their home country. Companies must therefore bear a suffocating double social contribution to attract talents earning 3,000 euros per month. Moreover, this rule suffers from blatant inequity, as exceptions have been granted to the oil and financial sectors but not to the technology industry. We propose replacing this constraint with a flat-rate contribution on turnover to preserve the country’s attractiveness for know-how transfer.
Precisely, what structural vulnerabilities weigh on Tunisian subcontractors and distributors?
The major problem in this ecosystem is the under-capitalization of companies. Local distributors of consumables and spare parts lack working capital. Consequently, they cannot build strategic stocks. When a local supplier is out of stock, the exporting industrialist must take on the direct importation, again suffering from administrative burdens. Helping these SMEs strengthen their balance sheets is a cross-cutting urgency, as this financial precariousness penalizes the fluidity of the entire national production apparatus.
Do independent SMEs face specific difficulties in financing their technological modernization?
This is a blind spot in legislation. In the minds of decision-makers, a foreign investor is necessarily a subsidiary of a large group with strong finances. However, many of us are independents who self-finance our growth by reinvesting all our profits. Since the 2018 reform on PPR (Resident Natural Persons) accounts, regulations require us to convert a significant portion of our dividends into local dinars, restricting our ability to retain foreign currency funds to purchase cutting-edge equipment abroad. Furthermore, access to local bank credit remains very locked down for non-resident companies. This is an economic contradiction: we are hindering the investment of those who want to modernize their industrial tools in Tunisia.
Can Tunisia aspire to go beyond the assembly stage to build a true high-value-added component industry?
This is the next logical step, and we have the potential to build a true "Tunisian Silicon Valley." Producing components requires heavy investments, guaranteed access to water, and competitive energy. Unlike Morocco, Tunisia has an exceptional pool of engineers and designers who are already mature across the entire value chain. This ambition intersects with a major geopolitical opportunity: the end of hyper-globalization. Post-Covid, 20 to 30% of European order-givers are seeking to repatriate production from Asia to nearby countries. Tunisia is Europe’s natural partner for this nearshoring. International investors still believe in Tunisian potential; they simply await clear signals of regulatory modernization.
What message would you like to send to decision-makers and economic actors to conclude?
Tunisia is a country of paradoxes, but above all, it is a land of resilience and solidarity. When an industrialist encounters an obstacle, they always find human will to help them get back up. It is time to move away from decline and value our successes. In countries like China, industrial successes are broadcast on loop in public spaces to inspire the youth. Let us do the same! Let us communicate about our technological excellence, showing that Tunisia manufactures robots, AI calculators, and world-class electronic cards. It is by restoring pride and a vision of the future to our citizens that we will transform our potential into sustainable economic leadership.
