IT rising star Tunisia as an IT outsourcing insider tip

Tunisian companies such as InstaDeep, which uses artificial intelligence to advance logistics and transport systems as well as medical research, or Enova Robotics, a start-up that develops robots for use in crises, for example, demonstrate the capabilities of Tunisia-based companies. The spectrum of expertise ranges from game development, risk assessment and artificial intelligence to data science and analytics, app development, cloud services and computing.

The digital economy now contributes around eleven per cent to the gross domestic product and is the fastest-growing sector in the country. More than 1,600 companies employ over 100,000 highly skilled professionals. And a steady source of new workers is also ensured: Every year, 10,000 Tunisian IT engineers graduate from university.

The geographical proximity to Europe and a competitive cost and salary structure in the IT sector furthermore underpin Tunisia's ascendancy as an attractive location for IT outsourcing. The government has prioritized digital development opportunities, passing a comprehensive support law for start-ups, making infrastructure investments and opening technology centres to anchor Tunisia's digital ambitions in society and business.

At the same time, it is becoming increasingly difficult for German and European companies to find IT professionals at home. Those workers are indispensable to the digital transformation of companies. Since the potential of Tunisian professionals is still little known in Europe, there are great opportunities for more intensive cooperation.

The Tech216 initiative started in 2019 and promotes the cooperation of German and European companies with Tunisian IT companies and talents on various levels. In the long term, the aim is to make efficient use of the potential of the Tunisian digital economy and to combat the high unemployment rates in the country, especially among young people and university graduates, by creating sustainable jobs.

As a focal point of cooperation, Tech216 offers companies support in developing IT outsourcing projects. The offer includes, for example, comprehensive analyses and information on the Tunisian IT sector as well as support in the search for suitable IT outsourcing partners and talents. Tech216 assists with tender processes as well as project management and monitoring.

A pilot project of the BMW Group is already yielding positive results. During a discovery tour of the local IT industry, initial contacts were made, networks were established and finally two Tunisian IT companies were selected for further cooperation. In the end, new functions of the MyBMW app were co-developed by Tunisian-German teams. Dr. Andreas Bootz, who leads the Systems Design and Integration division at the BMW Group and member of the Advisory Board Tech216, described the cooperation as a 'successful and satisfying partnership for both sides.'

Tech216 is supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH as part of the Special Initiative "Decent Work for a Just Transition" of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The project is implemented by the governmental organisation Smart Tunisia, which implements Tunisia's digitalisation strategy, the Tunisian Ministry of Technology and Communications and the GIZ Tunisia Digital Centre.

More information at www.tech216.tn