A new centre for information-
and communication technology

The Tunisian ICT sector is growing strongly. Its size is estimated at around 1,800 companies with a combined workforce of 80,000. The sector includes companies in telecommunications, general IT activities, call centres, programming, consulting and data processing and storage. Every year, more than 10,000 young people graduate from ICT training in Tunisia – but by no means all of them find a job. The sector has a high potential to grow further, and trained professionals are available, so the opportunities for job creation are enormous.

The Zarzis Industrial Park is located near the coastal town of Djerba. Due to its proximity to Djerba Airport and the industrial port of Zarzis, it is very well connected to international markets. The first construction phase is complete, and the park opened in 2020, so important infrastructure such as a power supply, a well-developed road connection and fibre-optic internet is already in place. Many companies have already settled there, a process that has been helped by the local tax concessions.

The Zarzis Industrial Park is operated by the company Société de Développement et d'Exploitation du Parc d'Activités Économiques de Zarzis (PAEZ). It is organised as a public-private partnership. Due to the successful settlement of companies in the part of the industrial park that has already been built, PAEZ is now planning a second construction phase.

A five-storey technology centre will be built on an area of 4,300 square metres – the Zarzis Smart Centre. Up to 36 companies from the fields of e-commerce, app and web development, programming, etc. will find an environment here that enables them to further develop their products. With incubator and accelerator programmes, young companies will be prepared for market entry and get support for their expansion to other countries.

The Zarzis Smart Centre will make an important contribution to ensuring that ICT companies in Tunisia have the best possible conditions to thrive and to contribute to the development of a growing market. This will lead to the creation of jobs for young people.

PAEZ will create eleven new jobs in its own company to build and operate the technology centre. The construction is scheduled to be completed after a planning and building phase of 36 months. The newly located and supported companies will create more than 500 jobs within the three years following the opening of the technology centre. The employees of the companies will benefit from good working conditions, which also include coaching programmes and technical support. The 250 people already working in the industrial park can also use the improved infrastructure and modern facilities, so that working conditions will improve for them as well.

Investments are also being made in the training of future professionals: More than 700 people are to take part in further training measures that will be carried out in cooperation with schools, universities, and research institutions.

To set up the new technology centre, the company PAEZ plans to invest a total of 2.84 million euros. The Facility Investing for Employment grants a subsidy of 1.42 million euros (50 %). The facility’s funds will mainly be used to finance construction costs.

The Facility Investing for Employment (IFE) of KfW Development Bank is part of the Special Initiative "Decent Work for a Just Transition" of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). With its support, the facility wants to remove barriers that prevent the creation of new and better jobs in the private sector.