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Building on years of experience, Tunisian manufacturing capacity has been able to capitalise on the country’s geographic position and track record for quality. This, plus the improvement of transport infrastructure and enacting business-friendly regulations, has encouraged the emergence of a handful of significant industrial subsectors, which have aided in employing a growing number of Tunisians and diversifying the economy. However, Tunisia’s overall business environment has been negatively impacted by the post-revolution climate, with a decline in foreign direct investment. Tunisia’s retail sector has been affected by political instability, falling consumer confidence and currency devaluation in recent years. Still, improving security and the positive performance of international industries that rely on Tunisian suppliers underline the resilience of the local industry and retail sectors. This chapter contains interviews with Slim Feriani, Minister of Industry and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises; and Nabil Chaibi, CEO, Ulysse Hyper Distribution – Carrefour Tunisie.

Building upon its strong performance in 2017, the Tunisian tourism industry is poised to carry on growing both in terms of the number of arrivals and overall revenues. Since ebbing to a low point in 2015, owing to two security incidents, the sector has rebounded to nearly 2014 levels. The government has significantly improved the security situation since 2015, particularly in major tourist destinations. New markets and investors are generating meaningful gains, and both the government and private sector appear committed to the sector’s continued development, solidifying the industry’s position as an integral part of the economic future. The strong performance of the sector in 2017 and early 2018 gives the industry reason to be optimistic. This chapter contains an interview with Ahmed Khalaf, General Manager, Four Seasons Hotel Tunisia.

Agriculture plays an important role in the Tunisian economy which consists mostly of olive oil, cereals, dates, fruits and vegetables. Together with fishery, it accounted for 9.1% of GDP in 2016, generating €3.1bn. The sector has had to deal with several challenges, including land fragmentation, which contributes to poor access to credit; a considerable technology gap; climatic fluctuation and weak irrigation infrastructure, which has led to low productivity. In the face of increasingly constrained public funding, the government has chosen to lay the groundwork for attracting further private investment to help modernise the sector, with raising access to irrigated water one of the top priorities in the Tunisia 2020 strategy. This will be to the sustainable growth of Tunisia’s agriculture. This chapter contains an interview with Chokri Bayoudh, CEO, Office Nationale de l’Huile d’Olive.

Investing in Tunisia’s health and education sector has been a major priority for the government. In recent times, Tunisia has witnessed strong improvements in key health outcomes, thanks in part to the provision of health care coverage to the bulk of the population. Also, the private health care industry is growing rapidly, bolstered to some extent by a well-established medical tourism sector. Industry figures point to ample room for investment and expansion, providing the country continues to make progress in areas such as gaining international accreditation for local institutions and improving transport links with promising source markets. This chapter contains an interview with Hatem Ben Salem, Minister of Education.

In conjunction with KPMG, this chapter explores the taxation system and Tunisia’s efforts to build an investor-friendly environment. It also contains a viewpoint with Moncef Boussannouga Zammouri, Managing Partner, KPMG.

This chapter introduces the reader to the different aspects of the legal system in Tunisia, in partnership with Meziou Knani & Khlif. It also contains a viewpoint with Ghazi Meziou, Associate Lawyer, Meziou Knani & Khlif.