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Although its share in Tunisia’s economy has declined over the past few decades, agriculture contributes 9% of GDP, employs 16% of the workforce, and accounts for 9% of investments and exports. During the post-revolution years, the sector has appeared as one of the most resilient of the economy. It has experienced double-digit investment growth, and is expected to boost value added in strategic segments such as cereals and olive oil. The growth of the agriculture sector, however, will largely depend on the government’s ability to prepare for a series of upcoming challenges, including droughts brought on by climate change, farmers’ growing debt loads and land fragmentation. The country’s capacity to accelerate the development of new agri-business subsectors, such as bottled olive oil and processed dates and vegetables, is also key. This chapter contains an interview with Abdelmajid Ezzar, President, Tunisian Union of Agriculture and Fisheries.

The construction sector in Tunisia is at the beginning of what may prove to be a long-lasting recovery. In the aftermath of the 2011 revolution, contractors saw a slowdown in activity as a result of lower public investment levels, sluggish growth in the property sector and broader macroeconomic instability. However, an increase in donor-backed transport infrastructure projects and the recent announcement of Tunisia 2020 – a $60bn all-encompassing capital development programme – is painting a more optimistic picture. Although activity has been subdued in recent years, Tunisia’s construction sector is poised to rebound, with growth forecast to reach 1.54% in real terms in the 2016-20 period. Driven by fast-paced urbanisation and strong population growth, the Tunisian housing sector has expanded rapidly over the past decade. While the government continues to have a strong presence, the private sector has become the largest source of residential and non-residential development. Albeit one of the most solid in the region, Tunisia’s housing market has nonetheless been grappling with several challenges in recent years, including rising costs, land and labour shortages, and administrative bottlenecks. With construction costs outstripping property price ceilings for social housing units, most developers are catering to the mid- to higher-range segments. However, authorities are keen to re-energise the social housing segment with the introduction of new tenders. This, in addition to the implementation of the Tunisia 2020 strategy, which prioritises the sector, could see an increase in activity in the country’s real estate sector in 2017. This chapter contains an interview with Ahmed Bouzguenda, General Manager, Société Bouzguenda Frères.

The transport sector has long played a key role in Tunisia’s development given the country’s focus on exports and tourism. A combination of low logistical costs and proximity to European markets helped it attract visitors and export everything from olive oil to airplane components. As part of the Tunisia 2020 strategy, the government has been looking to regain logistical competitiveness and appears to be on track to do so, with private investors pledging approximately $15bn in infrastructure investments during the November 2016 Tunisia 2020 Conference. However, following through with the development strategy will depend on the government’s ability to attract further foreign investment, improve the business climate and channel the social aims of trade unions. The transport sector is crucial for Tunisia to restore confidence, recover its role as an industrial workshop for Europe, and convert itself into a key logistics hub between Europe and Africa. This chapter contains interviews with Anis Ghedira, Minister of Transport; and Anis Riahi, General Manager, Express Air Cargo.

While Tunisia has far fewer oil and gas reserves than its neighbours, it was not until the late 1990s and early 2000s that the country’s demand began surpassing domestic production. It was then that Tunisia became dependent on foreign energy imports, and began diversifying its energy mix through renewables and efficiency campaigns to curb consumption. Local authorities are now looking to revise Tunisia’s hydrocarbons code and further promote foreign investment in the country’s relatively small oil and gas industry, especially given the low lifting and breakeven costs. Nevertheless, developing local energy production through renewables and domestic oil and gas requires a number of reforms that have proven challenging to implement against the backdrop of post-revolutionary governmental and economic uncertainties. This chapter contains an interview with Saïd Mazigh, General Manager, Carthage Power Company.

The previous years have been marked by highs and lows for many countries in the MENA region. The Tunisian tourism industry, however, has begun showing small signs of recovery following a sharp drop in international arrivals in the aftermath of two acts of terrorism. The Tunisian government and tourism industry actors have been working to capitalise on a renewed sense of stability by tapping into new markets, as well as reconceiving the way Tunisia approaches tourism. Beyond the traditional mass-market segment, the country is looking to diversify its selection by offering luxury accommodation, attracting major international hotel brands, expanding its medical tourism offering and developing alternative forms of tourism, such as bed and breakfasts and vacation rental home options. These attempts have begun to show results. The combination of new markets, new tourism offerings and new investors is beginning to lay the foundations for positive development in the next few years. This chapter contains interviews with Salma Elloumi Rekik, Minister of Tourism and Handicrafts; and Amine Moukarzel, President, Golden Tulip Hotels and Resorts, MENA Region.

The Tunisian telecommunications market is seeing large increases in mobile phone plans over fixed-line subscriptions, as smartphones continue to offer voice-over-IP services and messaging applications that enable consumers to call and text via mobile internet. Though the sector has been liberalised for many years, Tunisie Telecom remains the dominant operator; however, competing operators Ooredoo Tunisie and Orange Tunisie have gained market share in recent years. The determining element that sets operators apart will now likely be the speed with which they roll out their 4G coverage nationwide. With the progressive deployment of 4G services, as well as the expected arrival of Virgin Mobile to the market and the growing presence of Lycamobile, it is likely that competition for users will grow even fiercer. Over the years Tunisia has become a regional hub for ICT thanks to a strong array of comparative advantages: a well-educated and competitive IT workforce, relatively low operating costs, close proximity to Europe, and a strong network of IT and telecoms infrastructure. With the country facing increasing competition from neighbouring Morocco and more anglophone-focused markets due to growing demand for English in offshoring activities, the Tunisian government is looking to implement policies designed to cement its population as a competitive and attractive IT-oriented market. However, obstacles to the sector’s growth remain. In order for Tunisia’s IT sector to unlock its full potential, the public and private sectors must work together to upgrade existing technoparks and IT infrastructure, as well as open additional digital centres to enable young entrepreneurs to create. This chapter contains an interview with Nizar Bouguila, CEO, Tunisie Telecom.