Tunisian finance is not at a standstill. It continues to irrigate the economy, to refinance businesses and to support activity. Moreover, the real question is no longer whether credit exists. It is what it actually finances.
However, recent data suggest a gradual shift: an increasing share of financing appears less oriented toward capacity expansion, toward innovation or upgrading, and more toward cash management, business continuity, and the absorption of liquidity tensions. In short, Tunisian finance still supports investment, but it is increasingly also—and sometimes mainly—backing operational survival.
The most revealing figure is that of the total outstanding credits to the economy, which reached 118.6 billion dinars in 2024, up 2.8%.
This progression masks a more cautious dynamic: loans to private enterprises grew by only 1.5%, while the share of loans to public enterprises rose from 8.3% to 9.5% of the total. The banking system therefore still lends, but without a real acceleration of private productive financing.
An economy that is too sluggish
Investment finance prospers when the economy offers prospects of demand, return and visibility. This is not yet fully the case in Tunisia.
