The minister in charge of managing the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, Salah Zouari, announced this Wednesday in Tunis the launch of a program to assist Tunisian companies toward Industry 4.0.
“The initiative embodies a core ambition: to concretely support industrial enterprises in their technological transitions and to strengthen their competitiveness,” he said during a seminar held on this occasion.
Three mechanisms:
- The Industry 4.0 Unit, led by the Agency for Promotion of Industry and Innovation (APII). It will help the company identify the skills, solutions, and forms of support it needs, and will coordinate the various actors;
- The Industry 4.0 Label;
- The Smart Manufacturing Evaluation Tool “TIMA”, a national digital and methodological system that measures the digital maturity of companies and guides their transformation. It will be deployed via the network of Industry 4.0 competency centers in Sousse, Sfax, Bizerte, Sidi Thabet and Monastir.
The tool is part of the national initiative “Towards Industry 4.0,” launched by the ministry with the support of the European Union in Tunisia. It also benefits from the special initiative “Decent Jobs for a Just Transition,” funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and implemented by GIZ.
A report on progress since 2018
According to the minister, the national initiative launched in 2018 has yielded tangible results. The five competency centers have supported nearly 400 companies, trained more than 2,900 professionals, and contributed to the creation of 50 startups. Three professional master’s programs in Industry 4.0 have also been launched, and specialized laboratories developed.
“This transformation cannot be led by the state alone. It rests on companies, technical centers, universities, training institutions, startups and our international partners,” stressed Salah Zouari.
He noted that Tunisia possesses real strengths: a diversified industrial fabric, recognized manufacturing know-how, qualified engineers and technicians, and proximity to European and Mediterranean markets.
11 million euros for competitiveness
The European Union ambassador to Tunisia, Giuseppe Perrone, reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to supporting the modernization of Tunisian industry. He recalled that this process dates back to the 1990s with the upgrade program, as well as the association agreement that opened European markets to Tunisian industrial products.
According to him, the program implemented by GIZ, costing 11 million euros, is aimed mainly at strengthening the competitiveness of Tunisian companies, particularly in exporting to the European market. It is not only about providing technology but about transforming production methods and better integrating local and international value chains, he added.
