The European Union (EU) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have launched the ‘Insadder’ project to strengthen growth opportunities for small businesses in Tunisia.
With funding worth €7.25 million (24 million dinars), the five-year project aims to boost the export potential of at least 75 local small and medium-sized enterprises.
It also aims to help small businesses access international markets and be competitive.
The EBRD will also provide training programmes for local consultants to enhance their skills and improve the range and quality of advisory services dedicated to export activities.
‘This new partnership between the EBRD and EU will help Tunisian SMEs reach the next level in their presence in international markets’, Head of EBRD Tunisia, Antoine Sallé de Chou, said.
‘The programme builds on our successful track record of supporting SMEs in Tunisia and will provide technical assistance specifically tailored to scaling exports’.
EU Ambassador to Tunisia, Marcus Cornaro, said the programme was designed to help Tunisia rebuild itself, notably following the Covid-19 crisis.
About 60 percent of Tunisia’s population are poor or vulnerable and the Covid-19 pandemic has made the situation worse, according to the World Bank.
‘Our common goal is to contribute to the prosperity and stability of Tunisia, particularly in the context of post-Covid recovery’, Cornaro said.
‘Through this programme, in cooperation with the EBRD, we want to do everything possible to assist Tunisian SMEs in creating new opportunities and conquering new markets, in the EU or elsewhere.
‘By focusing on companies that have never exported or that have exported very little but wish to grow, we want to help them realise, step by step, their new export projects’.
It is understood that the EBRD and the EU have so far jointly supported more than 1,400 Tunisian companies, trained 600 women business leaders and more than 400 local consultants.
Source: EBRD
Photo source: Verity Cridland
