Tunisia will launch the Start-up Act 2.0 initiative. A fresh version of the Startup Act initiative, but with additional options to highlight the startup environment.

The debate on the Start-up Act 2.0 began a few months ago, with participation from the Ministry of Communication Technologies, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Vocational Training and Employment, the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research, start-ups, and civil society components, with the goal of “renegotiating,” in a sense, the Start-up Act passed in 2018. Everything within the context of a vision for 2035 and the transition to the information economy.

Given the difference in economic models, Wissem El Mekki, Director of the Digital Economy at the Ministry of Communication Technologies and the Digital Economy, believes that a start-up requires more favourable treatment than a small or medium-sized corporation.

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It should be noted that the initial edition of the Start-up Act made it possible to expose the sometimes inefficient innovation ecosystem with its dispersed initiatives. This initiative has explicitly revealed the ecosystem’s strengths and flaws over the years.

In keeping with the spirit and collaborative approach of the previous edition of the Start-up Act, V2 will highlight the initiative of start-ups, allowing the same spirit and collaborative approach to be maintained.

Wissem El Mekki confirms in a statement to that their role is primarily to demonstrate that innovative entrepreneurship requires new legal provisions dedicated to young people, as well as to change the investment law towards innovative investment while still within the framework of the reform, as well as the government’s announced improvement in the business climate in its reform programme.

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This updated version of the Start-up Act intends primarily to strengthen the role of start-ups, as well as their creative ideas and solutions, in collaborating more with the state, cleaning up the Tunisian administration, and improving the quality of services provided to people.

Tunisia Startup Act 2.0 Tunisia Startup Act 2.0

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

Following the adoption of the first Startup Act in 2018, the Tunisian Startups Think Tank is currently working on version 2.0 of this document.

The Startup Act has provided Tunisian startups with a legislative framework that is tailored to their specific situation. Startups operate at breakneck speed, necessitating a framework that is as adaptable and mobile. Flaws in use were discovered following the release of the initial edition of the text in 2018. This is why Tunisian Startups is collaborating with other startups on the next iteration of the Startup Act: the Startup Act 2.0.

The significance of the Startup Act 2.0

Tunisian Entrepreneurs founded Le Think Tank in February 2021 to answer to the demands and difficulties of Tunisia’s innovation ecosystem, which necessitate reflection, analysis, projection, and a set of real measures to support Tunisian startups and reinforce this ambition to innovate and undertake. The Startup Act, which was signed into law on April 17, 2018, embodied this ambition through its regulatory structure.

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The Startup Act is a legal framework aimed at promoting startups that are founding or settling in Tunisia. It is founded on a meritocracy and a set of perks and incentives for entrepreneurs, startups, and investors. However, in an environment defined by the digital revolution, new requirements and difficulties have evolved, necessitating solutions to the challenges confronting the startup ecosystem today, as well as a set of urgent and specific steps to support Tunisian businesses.

In this context, a debate session was hosted on April 12, 2022 at The Dot as part of the Tunisian Startups Think Tank project, focused on the importance of startups to the Tunisian economy and debating the launch of discussions around the Startup Act 2.0.

The National Task Force for the Startup Act 2.0 has officially launched

This session allowed Tunisian Startups, ATIC, the Central Bank, the Startup Act College, Smart Capital, JurisMed Law Firm, and the Ministry of Economy and Planning to announce the formation of a National Task Force.
The members of this strategic committee are asked to think together, share their recommendations and proposals around the lines of research and advocacy that are relevant to the current and future issues and needs of startups and the Tunisian entrepreneurial ecosystem, and to maintain dialogue with decision-makers.

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The conference also provided an opportunity for the National Task Force to issue a call for contributions from startups to supplement the recommendations for enhancing the legislative framework via a form that was circulated on Tunisian Startups’ social networks.

On the other hand, this session allowed entrepreneurs from various industries to discuss their appeals to unblock purely operational circumstances, as well as their ideas for the passage of laws that can position Tunisia as an innovation hotspot.

This meeting was also distinguished by a request from the Minister of Economy and Planning for startup ecosystem recommendations, as well as proposals from a representative of the Central Bank of Tunisia, in order to ensure conversation between the startup ecosystem and Tunisian banks.

Future meetings have already been scheduled, and they will focus on the inventory of the innovation ecosystem and the means of its development, as well as the regulatory framework that has to be amended.

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