As the first African country to implement a national startup law, Tunisia is the birthplace of African entrepreneurship. Innovation continues to thrive here with local and international collaboration, funding initiatives, and national strategies supporting startup growth. In 2023, Tunisia granted labels to 34 new startups, bringing its overall total to 1,040 and underlying its commitment to innovative growth.

Micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises account for 70% of employment, and their development therefore represents a significant potential for job creation. The Joint North Africa Task Force on Entrepreneurship and MSMEs for jobs impact fosters entrepreneurship to catalyze jobs creation and growth in Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. More than 82 institutions specialized in IT, 21 engineering schools, and 450 ICT-related university branches provide a pool of talented tech to feed the employment market.

In recognition of the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation for economic growth and job creation, Tunisia and the World Bank initiated a series of reforms to address challenges faced by startups and SMEs, increase financing, and support growth. The three-year Women in Agriculture Gain Economic Security project, a $2.1 million initiative to empower women in Tunisia’s AgTech sector, launched in March 2024. Tunisia’s Anava Fund of Funds and InnovaTech Fund invest in innovative startups and SMEs. Ecosystem and firm-level support provide additional grants to startups and ecosystem intermediaries to build high-quality deal flow.

In December 2023, team collaboration startup Cynoia raised $930,000 and Fintech startup My Easy Transfer raised $424,000. In 2023, SaaS platform Expensya was acquired by Swedish firm Medius.