In his meeting on Wednesday with Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani, the President of the republic Kais Saied introduced a draft law aimed at eradicating financial and economic exclusion. This draft law is anticipated to be submitted to the House of People’s Representatives for discussion.
Speaking yo Tunisie Numérique, Economist Murad Al-Hattab shared insights into the fundamental features of this draft law, remarking that its primary goal is to integrate broad social groups into the economic cycle by addressing the issue of the informal or parallel economy.
Al-Hattab ascribed that the legislation aligns with the overarching approach of the government, underscoring the valuation of private initiatives, particularly at the regional level. It aims to support existing financing alternatives that many segments of Tunisian society currently cannot access. The law urges microfinance and private companies to create jobs, potentially offering a solution to the unemployment crisis, especially among people with advanced degrees and vocational training.
The government’s emphasis on financial inclusion, prosperity, and fulfilling high growth rates is evident in the suggested law. Al-Hattab stressed the importance of addressing the informal economy to secure sustainable development. He underscored that regional development efforts have seen substantial investments in recent years, reaching a record 10 billion dinars.
Moreover, Al-Hattab underlined the political will to include around 70% of Tunisians in the formal financial sector. Currently, only 37% of Tunisians have accounts in financial institutions. The National Microfinance Strategy assesses that 30 to 40% of the population, around 2.5 to 3.5 million people, and over half of Tunisia’s establishments, about 425 thousand companies, stay unregistered and lack access to formal financial services or are not receiving their due benefits from these services.