Unprecedented Franco-German Cooperation to Boost Tunisian Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa
A groundbreaking political event is taking place on May 7, 2024, to mark a new milestone in Franco-German cooperation in support of Tunisia's entrepreneurial ecosystem. The objective is to support Tunisian businesses in their internationalization and exportation processes, with a focus on the opportunities and challenges presented by the Sub-Saharan African market.
The event, "Broadening Horizons, Strengthening Economic Ties: The Franco-German-Tunisian Triangulation towards the African Continent," will feature political speeches, panels, and testimonials, transforming the event into an interactive platform celebrating Franco-German cooperation and exploring opportunities for Tunisian businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa. Everything is already in place on the ground. The collaboration and synergy between the three countries have taken into account the needs of public and private stakeholders to support the internationalization of Tunisia's private sector according to its needs. Support tools have been put in place by the AACA and PEMA projects, funded by the GIZ (Germany) and Qawafel, funded by the AFD (France).
"At GIZ, we are happy and proud to support Tunisia in this change. Since 2018, we have been working in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce and Export Development and the Cepex, within the framework of the PEMA project – Promotion of Export Activities towards New Markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, to enable Tunisian businesses to diversify in Sub-Saharan Africa," declares Lisa Menucha, head of the PEMA & AACA projects. She adds, "We have accompanied over 700 businesses since 2021, through business missions, training, and event organization in Tunisia, such as the 'Tunisia Africa Business Meetings.' Its third edition will take place in 2024. We are particularly proud of the export consortia, Tunisia Health Alliance, Taste Tunisia, Get-IT, and Tunisia Building Partners, which we have contributed to creating. The idea of addressing African markets together has become a reality. As proof, the consortia have established over 400 new business relationships, with an estimated additional turnover of millions of euros."
On the other hand, Mazen Al Kassem, head of the Qawafel project, emphasizes the holistic approach of the project, which acts on three levels to benefit Tunisian startups and SMEs, at the micro and meso levels through financial and technical support. The macro level will focus on regulatory measures to improve the business climate and strengthen Tunisia's economic diplomacy with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to operationalize its strategy.
Qawafel: 36 months and €3.8 million "The Qawafel project, funded by the AFD and implemented by Expertise France, will run for 36 months. The deployment will be carried out in partnership with Tunisian ministries and public operators, including the Ministry of Economy and Planning, the Ministry of Commerce and Export Development, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with a budget of €3.8 million," he added. This is a first step that concerns the cohort of departing countries with the aim of promoting Tunisian know-how before scaling up to the African continent as a whole. Mazen Al Kassem specifies, "Qawafel also aims to support Tunisia's economic diplomacy to make it an effective accompanist of the internationalization of Tunisia's private sector. It is also a question of supporting public stakeholders to ensure the establishment of an environment conducive to the internationalization of Tunisian businesses."
The 3 Attractions of Africa and the 3 Assets of Tunisia The project is justified by the immense economic opportunities offered by Sub-Saharan Africa today for Tunisian businesses willing to internationalize and diversify their markets. "I remember with emotion my first trip with representatives of the Tunisian export ecosystem to Nairobi, Kenya, in autumn 2019. There were only one or two Tunisian products on the supermarket shelves, and the country was not well-known. In 2024, the situation is completely different! The supermarkets are now overflowing with Tunisian olive oil. Tunisian businesses are confirming the market's growth. And Tunisia – like Kenya – is among the first countries to have successfully launched official commercial exchanges within the framework of the Zlecaf," reveals Lisa Menucha. Indeed, the continent benefits from three combined factors that create a favorable environment for investment and business expansion, namely sustained economic growth, a young and expanding population, and abundant natural resources. "The Comesa and Zlecaf, as commercial agreements aimed at dynamizing intra-African relations, are fundamental for Tunisia. That's why we have been working since 2022 on a second project, AACA – Support for Commercial Agreements with Africa, to ensure that Tunisian businesses can fully benefit from them. This means, for example, setting up customs or introducing digital certificates of origin with the Chamber of Commerce. And many more pieces of information to raise awareness among businesses about the opportunities offered by commercial agreements."
In return, Tunisia has three assets that make it well-positioned to capitalize on these opportunities: firstly, it is located at the gates of Sub-Saharan Africa; secondly, Tunisian businesses already possess recognized expertise in several key sectors, such as agri-food, information and communication technologies, renewable energies, financial services, and textiles. And, as the icing on the cake, they have also developed expertise in managing international markets, particularly thanks to their openness to European markets. Aware of this predisposition, Tunisia is deploying numerous efforts to support Tunisian SMEs in their expansion towards the African market through the Ministry of Commerce and Export Development and the Centre for Export Promotion (Cepex). Various initiatives have been put in place to facilitate and encourage exports to African countries, such as awareness-raising conferences for the private sector on Zlecaf, trade missions, and professional exhibitions...
Tunisia, France, and Germany Hand in Hand In this regard, Tunisia has been able to count on a long-standing collaboration with France and Germany, particularly through cooperation projects financed by the two countries and implemented in Tunisia by Expertise France and the GIZ to facilitate access to financial resources, technical expertise, and training programs. They also contribute to supporting Tunisia's economic development and international expansion, creating a favorable environment for the growth of Tunisian businesses and their integration into international markets, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. A collaboration that the event on May 7, 2024, aims to celebrate by highlighting the potential of Tunisian businesses to conquer these markets, while emphasizing the advantages of Franco-German cooperation in terms of expertise, financing, and partnership. "We want to send a message: we, France and Germany, support Tunisia in its orientation towards Sub-Saharan Africa. We believe in the Africa Project and are here to support you," insists Lisa Menucha.