Reviewing The Tunisia Startup Act: Here Are Few Lessons From Tunisian Ecosystem Builders As Startup Act 2.0 Gears Up

If the Tunisia Startup Act enabled the establishment of a stable ecosystem and market penetration, the second version of the Startup Act will seek to address the inadequacies that have been created as barriers to the growth of startups.

“In my opinion, the fact that the state helps start-ups by buying their products is more important than funding,” said Zouber Turki, president of the Collège des start-ups, during a webinar hosted by IACE on Wednesday, November 16, on the topic “What is the contribution of the start-up Act 2.0 law to entrepreneurship in Tunisia.” 

Tunisia Startup Act

Three years after the Start-up Act went into effect, the speakers compiled an inventory of Tunisia’s start-up ecosystem during the online debate.

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They also returned to the difficulties that entrepreneurs encounter.

Turki, while praising the work of the College members, stated that financing is a major issue that Tunisian start-ups face. However, he believes that the latter may advertise their technology solutions and get money elsewhere. The formation of start-ups beyond the university gates should not be a source of anxiety for the university professor, especially when Tunisia continues to gain from their technical solutions and services.

Returning to the process that resulted in the adoption of the first version of the Startup Act, Wissem El Mekki, director of the digital economy at the Ministry of Communication Technologies, stated that the new regulatory framework was driven by young people who aspired to revolutionise traditional investment and pushed for the adoption of agile regulation for innovation. He also stated that three years is insufficient time to conduct a review of the Startup Act.

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However, “the second version of the law will allow the administration to clarify its vision regarding the policies adopted in terms of innovation,” he believes. “It will also allow the administration to straighten the course, make corrections, and improve the regulatory framework capable of contributing to the development of the ecosystem and overcoming the shortcomings that stand in the way of the growth of start-ups.”

Accelerate Funding

According to Mohamed Salah Frad, president of the Tunisian Association of Capital Investors (Atic), the start-up Act law has enabled the establishment of a strong ecosystem and the penetration of the market, as seen by the large number of labelled start-ups (more than 700 start-ups). However, some flaws have revealed. These are primarily issues of financing and the implementation of the notion of the state start-up.

Frad urged for the acceleration of financing for the 700 branded start-ups in this regard, predicting that the finance needs would be roughly 70 million dinars. Concerning the State start-up, Atic’s president emphasised that the public buyer must be convinced of its position as a growth engine for these young startups looking for markets. Using the start-ups Ahmini and BeSoftware as examples, Frad stated that the state has been unable to capitalise on these innovative solutions to improve its services, emphasising that in the United States, it is the state that has provided impetus to the growth of technology.

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According to Oussama Messaoud, secretary general of the Tunisian start-ups association, the start-up Act has facilitated a paradigm change by fostering a dynamic and an environment of innovation and encouraging investors to take risks.

In light of the difficulties encountered by the administration and the banking system in applying the law (particularly for the special account in foreign currencies), Messaoud has called for the creation of new innovative financial products and mechanisms to attract investors interested in the Tunisian ecosystem. He also brought up the issue of start-ups that, once they reach a certain degree of development, are obliged to leave the nation in order to obtain funding and flourish.

Tunisia Startup Act Tunisia Startup Act

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert. 
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh