The business climate barometer (IPCA) has fallen by a further 3.4 points, from 48.6/100 in 2020 to 45.2/100 in 2022, “testifying to a more gloomy perception of the ecosystem and the business environment in general”, according to a study recently published by the Tunisian Institute for Competitiveness and Quantitative Studies (ITCEQ).
The document entitled “Business climate: Results of the 22nd survey and Tunisia’s position in international reports”, states that the assessment of the business climate is based on the perception of business leaders in 12 areas, namely infrastructure, human resources, macroeconomic and legal framework, administrative procedures, judicial system, bank financing, taxation and social charges, market practices, political climate, corruption, security situation and social climate.
Of these 12 areas, 10 showed a decline in their sub-indicator compared to 2020. The largest decreases were in the judicial system (down 10.9 points to 47.7/100), bank financing (down 6.4 points to 32.2/100), human resources (down 6.2 points to 68.7/100) and market practices (down 4.9 points to 40.1/100).
According to the ITCEQ, corruption (with a score of no more than 31.4/100), followed by the political climate (31.8/100), bank financing (32.2/100) and the social climate (32.8/100) are the main obstacles to business development in Tunisia in 2022.
It is important to note that the results of the 22nd survey show that business leaders have an increasingly negative perception of institutional corruption, with 70% considering it a major obstacle.
An analysis by company size shows that corruption is a much greater concern for small companies (72%) than for medium and large companies (61% and 63% respectively).
On the other hand, the ‘security situation’ pillar has seen a significant improvement in the way it is perceived by business leaders.
In fact, the security situation has gone from being the third constraint in 2015 to the tenth in 2022.
Infrastructure and human resources have maintained their position as the most perceived areas, although they mask certain shortcomings.
Indeed, although human resources remain a strong point in Tunisia’s business climate, the fact remains that its perception indicator has fallen by a significant 6.2 points, from 74.9/100 in 2020 to 68.7/100 in 2022, indicating that Tunisia is losing ground in this area.
The 22nd survey on the business climate and business competitiveness was conducted between June 17 and 22, 2022. It covered a sample of 1041 private, structured companies (with 6 or more employees) operating in industry and services and spread throughout Tunisia.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse