Over the last five years, an entrepreneurial ecosystem has been developing in Tunisia, encouraged by the adoption of the Startup Act in 2018 and the activities of international actors and civil society.
While start-ups and SMEs have a capacity for resilience and strong potential for growth and internationalisation, they are invariably faced with a number of barriers to their development, mainly related to access to financing. The global crises (health and climate crises) have also increased the economic, social and environmental difficulties.
These trends also highlight the need to develop innovative business models and adopt sustainable practices in companies and traditional industries, which have the potential to reduce mass unemployment and provide solutions to environmental issues.
The Greenov’i project was launched in 2023 to contribute to the environmental transition of the Tunisian economy through more sustainable consumption and production patterns, in tune with the green economy. This project is financed by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France. It has two main areas of operation.
Cet axe d'intervention entend plus spécifiquement répondre aux enjeux de l’éco-innovation. Les activités visent à développer des outils de financement, soutenir le développement et la croissance des organisations / initiatives sélectionnées et renforcer l'efficacité et la qualité des dispositifs d'accompagnement existants y compris les startups.
This area of operation more specifically aims to address issues related to eco-innovation. The objective of the activities is to develop financing tools, support the development and growth of the organisations / initiatives selected, and improve the effectiveness and quality of existing support mechanisms, including start-ups.
It is based on three mechanisms:
- A grant programme with Smart Capital (operator of the Startup Tunisia initiative) for the creation of a repayable advance fund and seed grants for innovative GreenTech start-ups (indicative volume: €1.5 million);
- A programme for grants allocated via calls for projects for support structures targeting the nationwide deployment of financing and support mechanisms for the creation and development of eco-enterprises (grants and/or interest-free loans) (indicative volume: €2.2 million);
- A complementary technical assistance programme for actors that finance the green economy and impact investment funds (indicative volume: €1 million).
The objective is to support and finance existing companies in Tunisia seeking to improve their production processes with more sustainable production methods, through various financing mechanisms.
This area of operation is based on two mechanisms:
- A system of green vouchers for the environmental transition of companies, in particular in craft sectors, with a volume of about €1.5 million;
- Co-financing for “green” projects implemented by other operators or international cooperation agencies, in particular in the sustainable tourism sector (€800,000).
Component 1: The targeted audience of the awareness-raising activities: young people, entrepreneurs and project initiators, support structures and investors.
Component 2: Implementation of awareness-raising and promotion activities on the environmental transition among companies, in particular in the tourism and craft sectors.
For further information, consult the Greenov’i project website
