How Tunisian Businesses Are Advancing on Sustainability: Insights from the "Smart Sustainable Infrastructures" Project

How are Tunisian businesses currently progressing on sustainability issues? What are their specific needs, and what challenges do they face within their respective sectors? The national project "Smart Sustainable Infrastructures" aims to answer these questions by engaging directly with businesses and local stakeholders.

Launched on October 2, 2026, at Startup Village in Tunis, the project is part of the "CréAfrique 2.0" program and will run until April 2027. A key component of the initiative involves collaborating with over 100 Tunisian companies to assess their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) maturity levels and gain a deeper understanding of their operational needs.

A National Roadshow: The CSR Caravan

The initiative extends well beyond the Greater Tunis area. A dedicated CSR Caravan will visit 12 cities across the country, including:

Bizerte
Tunis
Sousse
Mahdia
Sfax
Djerba
Gabès
Tozeur
Sidi Bouzid
Kairouan
Le Kef
Béja

The primary objective is to exchange insights with local economic actors and identify region- and sector-specific sustainability challenges.

Bridging the Gap Between Industry and Innovation

According to Fatma Attia, the project lead, this approach is designed to connect businesses with those who can provide solutions to their specific problems, including researchers, experts, universities, and project initiators. She emphasizes that needs vary significantly across industries; for instance, the challenges faced by the textile sector differ markedly from those encountered by companies specializing in automotive components.

To address these diverse needs, the project includes the creation of the "UGC Innovation Lab." This space will bring together businesses, startups, researchers, experts, and students to work on the issues identified in the field. Proposed solutions will be tested as prototypes before potential implementation.

Key Program Components

The program is multifaceted, targeting various stakeholders and objectives:

Startup and Project Support: The initiative will provide mentorship and support for 15 projects.
Youth and Entrepreneurship: It targets 500 young people and project initiators, mobilizing 100 experts and researchers.
Key Themes: Topics covered will include employability, training, innovation, scientific research, and entrepreneurship.
CSR Benchmarking: The corporate component aims to establish a comprehensive overview of current CSR practices. Collected data will help identify existing practices, as well as the ongoing needs and difficulties faced by businesses. This will lead to the development of a National Guide of Best Practices in CSR and Sustainability.
Scientific Research: In partnership with the Center for Economic and Social Studies and Research (CERES), a participatory research space will be established. The project plans to publish 10 scientific articles based on data collected during the various phases of the initiative.

Upcoming Milestones

Three key events are already scheduled on the calendar:

Project Launch: October 2, 2026 (Completed)
Hackathon 2.0: January 30–31, 2027
Closing Forum: "Innovation for Smart Sustainable Infrastructures," April 20–21, 2027

A Two-Way Engagement Model

Through this program, businesses are engaged on two levels:

They can share the sustainability challenges they face.
They can actively participate in collaborative work with researchers, experts, and startups.

Conversely, solution providers (startups, experts, etc.) can test their ideas against the expressed needs of businesses and the realities of Tunisia’s diverse economic sectors.

About CréAfrique 2.0

This is the second edition of the CréAfrique 2.0 program. The initiative is led by Flow UP Consulting in partnership with the UN Global Compact Network Tunisia.