Tunis, Tunisia, September 1, 2022 — IFC celebrates this week its 60 years supporting private sector development in Tunisia through investments and advisory services that benefitted thousands of entrepreneurs and businesses in the country.
Since 1962, IFC worked with more than 40 local and international partners in Tunisia, mobilizing and investing more than $1 billion in projects and delivering more than 150 investment and advisory programs to support small businesses, manufacturers, agribusinesses, infrastructure development, and the financial sector.
IFC has also helped Tunisia strengthen its business environment, enabling businesses to increase exports and reach new markets. During the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, IFC invested more than $30 million to support Tunisia's private sector, while providing tailored advice to help firms navigate the crisis.
To mark the anniversary, IFC hosted an event in Tunis and welcomed guests from Tunisia's government and business community to discuss the private sector's central role in the country's economy, ongoing challenges, and paths to future growth and job creation.
Speaking at the event, IFC Vice President for Africa, Sérgio Pimenta, said, "Throughout our six decades of supporting Tunisia, we have gone further than simply financing the private sector, having also worked tirelessly to become a strong and trusted partner and to make the private sector a powerful engine of the country's economic and social development."
During the anniversary event, the former CEO of Tunisie Leasing, Fethi Mestiri, described how IFC helped the company establish itself as Tunisia's first leasing company and open an important financing stream for businesses in the country. CHO Group's Deputy CEO, Rym Makhloufi, described how IFC helped the olive oil producer expand its product lines and exports.
Other speakers included Essma Ben Hamida, Co-founder and Chairperson of the NGO Enda inter-arabe and member of the board of Enda Tamweel, who shared how IFC's financing and advice helped Enda support thousands of micro- entrepreneurs in Tunisia, and Selim Sellami, Vice President of One Tech Holding, a Tunisian engineering and manufacturing firm, who applauded the long-term financing IFC provided during the pandemic.
"This occasion is a cause for celebration as well as an opportunity to pause and reflect on our partnership that began in 1962, a few years after Tunisia's independence. It is also an opportune moment to look to the future and examine the projects we still have to carry out together to make the private sector the main engine of growth," said Samir Saied, Minister of Economy and Planning of Tunisia.
Over the past five years IFC has invested and mobilized over $140 million to support Tunisia's agribusiness, manufacturing, and financial sectors.
Going forward, IFC is committed to building on its partnership with the Government of Tunisia along with the country's private sector and contributing to the financing and development of key sectors, such as renewable energy, agriculture and manufacturing value chains.
About IFC
IFC—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2021, IFC committed a record $31.5 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
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