Financial Inclusion in Tunisia: Low-Income Households and Micro-Enterprises Snapshot – September 2015
This snapshot provides an overview of financial inclusion trends and challenges in Tunisia. It follows the recent expiration of the Coordinated Vision for the Development of Microfinance in Tunisia 2011-2014, a national strategy published in 2011. This report focuses specifically on low-income households and micro-enterprises.
Despite 12 million bank and postal accounts registered, there remains an estimated demand for microfinance services ranging between 2.5 and 3.5 million individuals and their income-generating activities, or 30% to 40% of the adult population, and between 245,000 and 425,000 formal businesses, or more than half of the estimated enterprises in Tunisia.
The study suggests several strategies to improve financial inclusion in the country.
- Identify the future champion of financial inclusion in Tunisia, which must possess the ability to bring together a wide diversity of public and private institutions and allow the development of a varied range of financial services, beyond microcredit.
- Conduct a representative market study for up-to-date information on demand, supply, and behavior related to financial services.
- Clarify the role of the various actors int he microcredit sector.
- Increase access to liquidity by redefining the role of the BTS, creating a new dedicated refinancing institution (commonly called Apex) and/or temporary and value-added mechanisms (e.g. credit lines, partial credit guarantee programs).
