In a context of sluggish growth, persistent unemployment, and marked territorial inequalities, the social and solidarity economy (SSE) is increasingly seen as a credible lever to rebalance the Tunisian economic model. Long confined to marginal initiatives, it now benefits from growing institutional recognition and could constitute a structural response to the country’s socio-economic fragilities.
A recent note from the Global Institute for Transitions (GI4T), an independent think tank specializing in economic transitions, reveals that a commission dedicated to the social and solidarity economy at the Ministry of Economy and Planning has developed a roadmap aimed at accelerating the sector’s development. This strategy was adopted and integrated into the three-year Development Plan 2023-2025, marking a significant step in the institutionalization of this economic model.
This roadmap notably provides for revising certain constraining provisions of the law relating to the SSE, the publication of implementing texts that are still missing, and the replication of the most successful pilot projects. It also proposes studying the creation of a cooperative bank dedicated to financing the sector, introducing new forms of cooperatives, such as activity and employment cooperatives, and encouraging the emergence of artisanal, commercial and consumer cooperatives.
