Entrepreurship in Tunisia

Having published the C·A·Perspectives on Tunisia Policy Paper No. 03-2016 on the topic of Entrepreneuriat en Tunisia: Recommendations pour relever les défis économiques in 2016, the paper’s author, pharmacist, trainer and businessman Mohamed Haroun Ouanes paid a visit to C·A·P on 16 October 2017 to give a lecture and discuss with an interested audience the conditions, challenges and potentials of how to enhance the spirit and level of entrepreneurship in Tunisia.

The expert discussed with the audience the main challenges for entrepreneurship in Tunisia such as the lack of entrepreneurial competencies in education, management, and leadership skills; the discouraging ecosystem in Tunisia with too much bureaucracy, and the burden of corruption and taxation; or the obstacle of old laws and financial preconditions that block the creation of start-ups in fields such as social or green economy or technological innovation.

Moreover, Mr. Ouanes presented a list of recommendations, both on the level of collective mentality, as well as in terms of procedural and institutional reforms:

1. Thing and assess:

• New strategy to boost entrepreneurial mindsets
• Raising awareness from the children phase
• Simplify procedures
• Spread transparency / open data

2. Reform and build

• Create a national platform for information and interaction
• New laws for emerging modes of entrepreneurship
• Reform public investments banks systems
• Implement the public private partnership procedures

Since 2011 Mohamed Haroun Ouanes has been involved in the Tunisian civil society, and has been working with many associations in various fields such as health, environment, transparency, or local governance. He also became a member of the Tunisian Youth Parliament and a delegate of Human Rights in Monastir. At present, he is a coach of business start-up activities by public institutions and private organizations, affiliated with the Business Center of Monastir. He is laureate of several entrepreneurial competitions in France, Italy, Spain, and Canada.

In 2016, he participated in the "Policy Advice and Strategy Development" Project organized by the C·A·P in cooperation with the Union des Tunésiens Indépendents pour la Liberté (UTIL), the Faculty for Juridical, Political and Social Sciences of the University of Carthage, and the Arab Institute for Human Rights (AIHR), and financially supported by the Government of Bavaria.