Industry & Mining

Tunisia boasts Africa’s sixth-largest manufacturing sector, and the country’s geography is an important asset for growth, offering direct access to the Mediterranean Sea and proximity to the European market, to which the bulk of the country’s exports are destined. Despite such logistical advantages, labour productivity, the size of the informal sector and problems in some subsectors – such as textiles – suggest significant room for improvement. Meanwhile, segments such as agribusiness, construction materials and machinery manufacturing have proven relatively successful in recent years. In the years since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, manufacturing growth has sometimes stumbled, declining from approximately 2.3% of GDP in 2014 to 1% in 2015. This chapter contains interviews with Romdhane Souid, CEO, Groupe Chimique Tunisien; and Amine Ben Ayed, CEO, Misfat.