The diagnosis is unequivocal: Tunisia faces an urgent need to act to halt the progressive deterioration of its business climate.
This trend, confirmed both by international data and by the direct perception of entrepreneurs, is the symptom of deep structural weaknesses which, if not addressed with rigor, could erode the very foundations of its economic base.
The action levers identified, for this purpose, by the Tunisian Institute for Competitiveness and Quantitative Studies (ITCEQ) in a new study entitled “Analysis of the Business Climate in Tunisia: Methodological Renewal and Priority Action Levers” revolve around three interdependent pillars: institutional stability, strengthening good governance, and modernization of the business support system and its alignment with the knowledge economy.
According to the institute’s analysis, these pillars are the necessary foundations to build a stable and predictable environment capable of restoring confidence, restarting private initiative, unlocking underlying potential, and putting the country back on a trajectory of sustainable competitiveness. To this end, we must listen while continuing the public-private dialogue, deepen analyses to understand and illuminate decision-making in order to act quickly and forcefully.
Improving the business climate constitutes a strategic imperative for Tunisia, capable of catalyzing domestic and foreign private investment, supporting growth, and stimulating job creation. Identifying and prioritizing the areas of intervention proves not only a sine qua non condition for promoting investment, but also and above all a necessity to enable raising the quality of the business climate to the level of the best international practices in an increasingly competitive environment.
To assess the business climate in Tunisia, ITCEQ has conducted since 2000 a survey of private sector companies reaching in recent years more than 1,000 companies and covering 51 items (indicators).
To account for all perceptions, both positive and negative, a Perception Indicator of the Business Climate (IPCA) has been calculated since 2007. But, as a player in economic analysis and competitiveness, ITCEQ, within its strategic approach, has sought to broaden its analytical toolbox to move from descriptive analysis to analysis based on innovative tools offering in-depth diagnostics and enabling the formulation of operational recommendations.
