The Minister of Finance and Acting Minister of Development, Investment and International Cooperation, Mr. Mohamed Ridha Chalghoum signed today, January 30, 2020 at the headquarters of the Ministry, with the resident representative of the World Bank in Tunisia, Tony Verheijen a financing agreement between the Tunisian Republic and the bank, in the presence of the Minister of Industry and Small and Medium Enterprises, Ministry of Communication Technologies and Digital Economy, and the Director General of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations.

The credit agreement, which will be dedicated to strengthening startups and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises, is estimated at 66.9 million euros, or approximately 208 million Tunisian dinars. This financing will be reimbursed over a period of 35 years, including a grace period of 7 and a half years.

In this context, Mr. Ridha Chalghoum said that the financing agreements signed between Tunisia and the World Bank are extremely important, especially with regard to financial support for innovative start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises, given the advantages that they will offer to strengthen their competitive capacities and develop their activities and thus open up wider horizons for them to export and create new job opportunities.

For his part, Mr. Tony Verheijen affirmed that the World Bank is always ready to accompany Tunisia in the implementation of its development projects thus valuing the importance of said project and its positive effects on the economic and social plan.