🇹🇳Tunisia
One of the Mediterranean's most skilled workforces, an export industry integrated with Europe, olive oil, tourism and major solar potential. Tunisia offers quality assets at attractive valuations.
Economic overview
Tunisia is a country of 12 million people, two flight hours from Europe, with one of the best-educated populations in Africa and the Arab world: engineers, doctors, technicians and graduates leave its universities every year. Its industry, automotive components, aerospace, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, exports mainly to Europe under the offshore regime, with thousands of foreign companies based there.
The country is also one of the world's leading exporters of olive oil and dates, produces phosphates, and its tourism, beaches, heritage, thalassotherapy, welcomes millions of visitors. Digital services and outsourcing to Europe employ tens of thousands of young French- and English-speaking graduates.
The macroeconomic difficulties of recent years have lowered valuations and opened opportunities to acquire industrial, hotel and real estate assets. Gulf investors, historically present in tourism, real estate and banking, find quality assets, a competent workforce and a gateway to Europe and Africa.
Why invest in Tunisia
Human capital
Engineers, doctors, technicians: a trained, multilingual and competitive workforce at costs well below Europe.
An export industry
Offshore regime, thousands of European companies, integrated automotive and aerospace chains: proven industrial know-how.
Assets at attractive prices
Hotels, plants, land, companies: current valuations offer rare entry points in the Mediterranean.
Position and agreements
Association agreement with the European Union, member of COMESA and AfCFTA, Arabic- and French-speaking.
Strategic sectors
Automotive, aerospace, electronics, pharma
Subcontracting and set-up under the offshore regime for export to Europe.
Hotels, thalasso, heritage
Hotel acquisition and renovation, resorts, medical tourism.
Olive oil, dates, citrus
Packaging and premium export to the Gulf and Europe.
Solar, wind, hydrogen
Renewable plants and electricity export projects to Italy.
Outsourcing, software, health
Service centres for Europe and the Gulf.
Tunis, Sousse, Hammamet
Residential, offices and tourism property.
Opportunities for UAE investors
Gulf investors have long been present in Tunisia. These are the current opportunities.
- Hotel asset acquisition
Hotels and resorts to renovate, at attractive valuations, in an established destination.
- Offshore industry
Component plants for Europe with a skilled workforce.
- Olive oil and dates
Packaging, brands and export to the Gulf.
- Health and medical tourism
Clinics and centres for Gulf, European and African clients.
- Solar
Plants and interconnection projects.
Risks and how we manage them
High public debt and weak growth. We favour export or hard-currency revenue projects.
The dinar is regulated. We structure repatriation in line with the Central Bank.
Procedures can be long. We rely on TIA and local advisers.
Social tensions can arise. We select partners and sites carefully.
Legal framework and ties with the UAE
Investing in Tunisia
- 2016 Investment Law and Tunisia Investment Authority: one-stop shop.
- Offshore regime: exemptions and free transfer for exporting companies.
- Regional development zones with incentives.
- Double taxation treaty with the UAE.
- Recognised international arbitration.
The Dubai connection
- Direct Tunis–Dubai flights.
- UAE investment in tourism, real estate and banking.
- A large Tunisian community in the UAE.
- Long-standing bilateral relations.
Dubai as your operating base
For a UAE investor, Tunisia is best worked from Dubai. The city offers the tools that are often missing on the ground: a Free Zone holding company to carry the stake, banks used to African flows, a recognised international arbitration framework, tax treaties and investment protection agreements, and regular flights to the continent. For an entrepreneur or institution from Tunisia, Dubai is symmetrically the gateway to Gulf capital, commodity buyers and Asian industrial partners. ABC Consultancy sits in the middle of that bridge: we know both shores and we speak to both.
How ABC Consultancy supports you
A confidential 45-minute call to understand your objectives, ticket size, horizon and risk appetite. We tell you whether the project makes sense before going any further.
A written note that sets the perimeter: sector, deal format, partners to target, timeline, study budget and deliverables. It serves as the engagement contract.
Identification of partners, assets and institutional counterparts on the ground. Every counterparty is checked: titles, management, track record, reputation, ongoing disputes.
Meetings with authorities, partners and sites. We prepare, accompany and translate every exchange, then produce a decision-ready report.
Legal and financial set-up between Dubai and the country with our partner lawyers and auditors: holding, joint venture, shareholder agreement, commercial contracts, full due diligence.
Governance, reporting, relations with the authorities, renewal of approvals. We remain your trusted contact for as long as the transaction lives.
Who we work with
UAE funds and family offices
You want exposure to Tunisia with a reliable local partner and a Dubai holding structure. We source, vet and structure.
Industrial groups and traders
You need to secure a supply chain, a plant or a commercial outlet in Tunisia. We organise the mission, the approvals and the contracts.
Local institutions and companies
You represent a ministry, an agency or a company from Tunisia and are looking for capital and partners in the Gulf. We prepare your file and open the doors.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreigner buy property in Tunisia?
Yes, with a governor's authorisation for non-residents, except for agricultural land. Approved tourism and industrial projects benefit from facilities.
Why Tunisia now?
Because valuations are low, skills high and ties with Europe intact: an entry point rarely this favourable.
What is the minimum ticket to invest in Tunisia with ABC Consultancy?
There is no fixed threshold: it depends on the sector and the format. An equity stake in a manufacturing project runs into millions of dollars, whereas a trading or real estate operation can start much lower. In the first conversation we tell you honestly whether your budget allows a serious transaction.
How long does a transaction take?
Expect three to six months between the scoping note and signature for a trading or real estate operation, and nine to eighteen months for a tourism project requiring approvals, in-depth due diligence and structured financing.
How is ABC Consultancy paid?
Through engagement fees set in the scoping note, possibly completed by a success fee at signing. We never take hidden remuneration from a counterparty: our only loyalty is to you.
Do I need a Dubai company to invest in Tunisia?
It is not mandatory, but it is often the best solution: a Free Zone holding carries the stake, benefits from tax treaties and protection agreements, and repatriates dividends within a clear framework. We set it up with you.
A project in Tunisia ?
Describe it in a few lines. We get back to you within 48 hours for a first confidential conversation.
Or directly: WhatsApp +971 545 995 343 · contact@africabusiness.club