Tag Archives: North Africa

Turning Setbacks into Success and Sustainability

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For months, the world has followed the unrest and protest in North Africa stemming from unemployment throughout Tunisia and Egypt. America.gov asked several Tunisian entrepreneurs to share their stories of business development amid the strife in their region.

Headshot of Ziad Oueslati

Ziad Oueslati

Mr. Ziad Oueslati has studied at MINES ParisTech in France and at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in America. He is a Founding Partner and CEO of TunInvest-AfricInvest Group.

Upon completing engineering studies in France and the US, I decided to return to Tunisia to contribute to its development and that of Africa. After a few years with an international bank, I created with two partners the first private equity boutique in North Africa. We shared the same drive to help indigenous entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises to emerge, grow and excel. In time, we managed to expand our activities to a wide number of countries across the African continent, offering financing, coaching and strategic guidance to nearly 100 entrepreneurs and SMEs.

We learned during that period that the main ingredients for building successful and sustainable businesses in Africa – particularly in Tunisia – are transparency, ethics, interest alignment, market viability and strategic vision. We endeavored to reinforce management with the right people, properly incentivize them, seek larger markets through export strategies, promote social and environmental responsibility, and enhance corporate governance at all levels. This also meant avoiding partnering with politically exposed persons, no matter how enticing the opportunity or intense the pressure. That was particularly difficult in Tunisia over the last 10 years, given the rampant corruption of the family of the ex-Tunisian dictator.

This course has spared us from major setbacks after the regime change. Although we foresee difficulties in the short term, we are confident that the cleaner economic environment will restore investors’ confidence and boost private investment and entrepreneurship.

Tunisian entrepreneurs should invest in people and training and seek smart foreign partnerships that bring true added value and technology transfer. To be sustainable over the long term, they should also dare to go outside their borders to neighboring markets and beyond.

Competition, Expansion in Tunisia’s Future

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For months, the world has followed the unrest and protest in North Africa stemming from unemployment throughout Tunisia and Egypt. America.gov asked several Tunisian entrepreneurs to share their stories of business development amid the chaos in their region.

 

Ali Belakhoua stands among tech equipment

Ali Belakhoua

Ali Belakhoua is the Managing Director of STARZ Electronics. He is a Tunisian-American Electrical Engineer with a degree from the University of MO Rolla and was born in St. Louis, Missouri. For more information about Ali’s company, visit www.starzelectronics.com.

The future is in Tunisia. When my family returned to Tunisia in 2002, we realized that it was the perfect place for starting a small company. We founded STARZ Electronics, an electronic and cable assembly manufacturer, in Bizerte with only six employees. Now we count more than 80 permanent and temporary workers, and we are continuously re-investing in equipment to expand our capabilities.

Tunisia has an abundant supply of educated youth with a high work ethic. We have used this asset to grow our business and be very competitive. I would encourage young graduates to attain a well-rounded education with technical training and a focus on language skills. The government also provides a great deal of help for youth recruitment and training.

Our proximity to Europe makes Tunisia ideal for serving the entire European market and North America. Surface transportation is rapid and inexpensive between Tunisia and Europe, so we provide our customers a perfect alternative to subcontracting work in Eastern Europe. Our labor costs are almost as competitive as those in China. English and French language skills are also keys to our success.

The challenge is to continue to expand. We need to spread the word about Tunisia’s potential and highlight the countless success stories of businesses that have found the perfect operating environment here.  For companies moving operations from Europe or the U.S., Tunisia is an ideal alternative to China. 

Rights of Indigenous Peoples / Engaging with Asia / The ACE Awards

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President Obama announces U.S. support for the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. After a year of “practical progress,” the United States will continue its strong engagement with Central and South Asia in the coming year. A U.S.-North African partnership is expected to yield new jobs. And finally, the winners of the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence are announced; read about their work.

Obama Backs Indigenous Rights Measure
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The United States is lending its support to the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, President Obama says. Speaking at the White House Tribal Nations Conference in Washington, Obama, at left with Fawn Sharp of the Quinault Indian Nation, tells a gathering of Native Americans that he hopes “we are seeing a turning point in the relationship between our nations.”


Progress in Central Asia
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This year, U.S. efforts to intensify engagement with Central Asia have brought results across a wide range of issues, says Robert Blake, the U.S. assistant secretary for South and Central Asian affairs. “I can assure you that that high-level engagement will continue in 2011,” says Blake.

Stronger U.S. Ties With South Asia
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Robert Blake says the United States “will continue our very strong engagement” in South Asia. President Obama’s November visit to India launched the countries’ “global strategic partnership,” says Blake.

U.S.-North African Partnership
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Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Business Affairs, Jose Fernandez recently unveiled the U.S.-North Africa Partnership for Economic Opportunity during the U.S.-Maghreb Entrepreneurship Conference in Algeria. Fernandez described the conference as an important step toward deepening economic relations with Muslim majority countries around the world.

The ACE Awards: Denimatrix
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Guatemala City-based Denimatrix, which opened for business in 2009, makes jeans from cotton grown in the United States. It received the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence for its embrace of ethical business and labor practices.

The ACE Awards: Mars Inc.
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Mars Inc. — the U.S.-based company that makes Snickers, the world’s biggest selling candy bar, and other confectionary treats Mars received the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence for its work helping farmers in Ghana to produce better cocoa yields. The program, a partnership among Mars, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the World Cocoa Foundation, invests in research and distribution of tree seedlings to enable farmers to grow more disease-resistant and higher-yielding trees.

The ACE Awards: Cisco
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Cisco Systems Inc., an American maker of information-technology products, receives the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence for its work strengthening the Palestinian economy and fostering engagement among Palestinian, American and Israeli businesses. At right, participants in Cisco’s Neta program learn English and technology in a youth club environment.