AfDB Approves €92.3M Financing for Tunisia’s CAP-Emplois Program to Boost Job Creation

The Tunisian government projects that CAP-Emplois will create approximately 118,900 formal jobs, including 76,600 direct and 42,300 indirect positions.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a significant financing package of €92.3 million to support Tunisia's Support Program for Business Competitiveness and Empowerment of the Population through Job Creation (CAP-Emplois). This initiative aims to enhance job creation, improve living conditions, and foster economic inclusion through entrepreneurship and skills development.

The financing includes a €90 million loan from the AfDB and a €2.3 million grant from the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) Trust Fund, under the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative. The CAP-Emplois program, developed by the Tunisian Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training with AfDB support, will be implemented over four years starting in November 2024.

The program is designed to address significant constraints faced by Tunisian entrepreneurs, such as limited education levels, market access issues, and difficulties in recruiting skilled employees. It aims to tackle these challenges through three main interventions: providing complementary integration training to equip young people and women with the skills needed for salaried jobs; offering tailored entrepreneurship support through the Souk At Tanmia 2.0 service, particularly benefiting women; and developing institutional capacity.

The Tunisian government projects that CAP-Emplois will create approximately 118,900 formal jobs, including 76,600 direct and 42,300 indirect positions. The program is also expected to have a significant impact on women, with at least 50% of the trained and integrated entrepreneurs being women, and 45% of supported businesses being women-led. The We-Fi grant will help reduce loan initiation fees for women-run businesses and increase female entrepreneur beneficiaries from 35% to 45%.

Malinne Blomberg, Deputy Director General of the AfDB for North Africa and Country Manager for Tunisia, highlighted that the program builds on insights from the Souk At-Tanmia initiative and operational innovations developed by the EInA platform. "This program consolidates our commitment to promoting employment in Tunisia and aims to overcome constraints related to business expansion and financial sustainability while leveraging private investment," Blomberg said.

The CAP-Emplois program represents a significant effort to boost business competitiveness and job creation in Tunisia, addressing key barriers to entrepreneurial success and economic development.