Tunisian Startups Association Unveils Integrity Charter for Startup Ecosystem

Today, The Dot hosted the final conference on integrity in the Tunisian startup ecosystem. On this occasion, a nine-point integrity charter was presented, aiming to unite entrepreneurs and actors in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Oussama Messaoud, President of the Tunisian Startups Association, recalled that before the initiative of this charter, a bill project, the "Startup Act 2.0", had been developed by the association. This project, now known as the "Innovation Act", represents an updated version of the current legal framework, the "Startup Act". The Innovation Act aims to offer more means to valorize the startup environment, by expanding the scope of the Startup Act and opening new horizons for entrepreneurs, including innovative companies, in line with the association's vision.

To accelerate this process, the Tunisian Startups Association, through collaborative work, has developed an open-source integrity charter. This charter is intended to be generalized and adopted by all concerned parties. A mediator has also been made available to facilitate conciliation between all stakeholders.

"The idea is to bring viewpoints closer," said Chiheb Ghazouani. "Everything is calculated and thought out, but other recommendations can still be integrated into the charter. It's a common commitment."

This charter was developed as part of the LuCCRI project (Fight against Corruption and Reinforcement of Integrity), organized by the GIZ and mandated by the German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and executed by the Tunisian Startups Association. The project aims to enable young entrepreneurs to integrate compliance, integrity, and transparency more effectively into their development strategies, thus facilitating their access to larger markets. In this way, the project contributes to the consolidation of an integrity culture in Tunisia.

The Tunisian Startups Association is committed to guiding entrepreneurs towards innovation. Several concrete cases were presented during the conference, and the first signatures of the charter will begin tomorrow.

To discover the entirety of the charter, click here.

From left to right: Chiheb Ghazouani and Oussama Messaoud.