Pragma
Pragma

USAID Business Reform and Competitiveness Project (USAID/BRCP)

USAID Business Reform and Competitiveness Project (USAID/BRCP)

Tunisia | 2013 - 2017

Overview

USAID’s Business Reform and Competitiveness Project successfully promoted SME employment growth in post-Arab Spring Tunisia. One of USAID’s flagship competitiveness enhancement projects, it applied a unique demand-driven approach to accelerate employment growth by catalyzing the productivity, sales, and exports of small and medium-sized enterprises in Tunisia. Its core focus on result-driven, adaptive management allowed the project to achieve impressive, cost-effective job generation numbers that exceeded all original projections.

Under Pragma’s cutting-edge, buyer-led approach, the project successfully generated jobs through the delivery of three interrelated initiatives:

  1. Enterprise Assistance
  2. Enhanced Employability
  3. Enabling Environment.

At the enterprise level, a robust portfolio of targeted technical assistance programs addressed the challenges facing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Tunisian business environment through building internal capacity, enabling access to finance, and linking companies across the value chain and with export markets.

Although Tunisia graduates 80,000 students annually, only 15,000 secure jobs due to issues in the educational system. The project enhanced the employability of the workforce by creating and supporting a new network of career development centers, establishing mechanisms for matching qualified workers with sustainable jobs, and developing market-responsive curricula in institutions of higher education.

Through the project, Pragma partnered with Tunisia’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research to establish a network of 73 Centers for Careers and Skill Certification (4Cs) embedded in universities across the country to provide comprehensive career development resources, enhance employment-related skills, foster communication between education, employers, and job seekers. The project supported the 4Cs through a range of initiatives, including Training of Trainer events, partnerships with organizations such as Microsoft, capacity-building through employability events, and the production of a Manual of Procedures for 4C counselors—all aimed at improving graduates’ employability and job-market readiness.

Pragma brought private sector employers into its partnership with the ministry to revamp higher education curricula to enhance employability among graduates. This collaboration included the active involvement of 4C counselors and enterprises and resulted in the upgrading of 23 curricula. It also bridged the skills gap by identifying high-demand skills through job creation efforts with enterprises and job-matching initiatives.

Concurrently, the project worked to improve the enabling environment for business by providing targeted technical services to Government of Tunisia counterparts and other stakeholders in critical employment-related areas to improve the legal and regulatory environment and enable greater growth, competition, and employment.

The project’s success in generating jobs was due to the impactful application of the results-focused, firm-level collaboration (buyer-led) model, enhanced by a nuanced understanding of the cooperating country context. This focused on establishing a strong dialogue and shared mutual accountability-based vision with high-potential partner firms of the strategic growth opportunities available to them; and the nuanced competitiveness constraints they would need to address in order to realize these opportunities. In many cases, the identification of these priority constraints emerged from the initial joint diagnostic analysis undertaken by project experts and partner firms, often differing significantly from firm management’s prior assumptions about underlying competitiveness-enhancement needs. Partner firm buy-in was further cemented through a strict “skin-in-the-game” requirement for partner firm co-financing of the project’s support programs. Overall, this incentive-based approach allowed Pragma to focus intensively on identifying firm-level growth opportunities and priority constraints and designing localized solutions in committed partnerships with local firms.

Achievements

  1. Leveraged 23,500 sustainable full-time equivalent jobs at a cost to USAID of well under $1,000 per job.
  2. Assisted 360 enterprises with technical assistance and/or on-the-job training.
  3. Facilitated approximately $42.5 million in credit and equity investments.
  4. Leveraged approximately $23 million in Foreign Direct Investment for 11 enterprises.
  5. Created and assisted the development of 73 Centers for Careers and Certification of Competencies (4Cs)
  6. Upgraded 23 higher education and/or vocational curricula.
  7. Trained 55 Centers for Careers and Certification of Competencies counselors and 27 certified in the Tamheed program.
  8. Organized 276 Career Events: 11 large-scale Job Fairs and 265 Career/Enterprise Days.
  9. In 2016, received a Collaborate, Learn, and Achieve (CLA) Case Competition Award from the USAID Learning Lab for utilizing a highly innovative approach to achieve breakthrough results (equity and credit deals leveraged) in Tunisia.

Focal Points

  • Enterprise Competitiveness
  • Private Sector Engagement
  • Workforce Development
  • Access to Finance
  • Foreign Investment
  • Trade Facilitation
  • Job Creation/Youth Employment
  • Knowledge Management
  • Collaboration, Learning, and Adaptation
0 +
full-time jobs leveraged
$ 0 Million
invested in credit and equity

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Africa, Tunisia, Kasserine. Cillium Olive Oil. Habib with fresh picked olives. Women working in the olive groves harvesting the olives by hand. Abir, the owner, is 31 years old, she has a university degree in Design art & communication. She worked 3 years as a teacher and in communication businesses. In 2015 she decided to have learn olive oil processing and production. It was natural for her to choose this field of work as she is a descendant of an old family of farmers. Her father (Mr Habib Rabhi) is a doctor but continued in parallel to work in their farm and developed the business by acquiring new lands. In 1991 Mr Habib Rabhi built an olive oil mill to produce olive oil juice for the farmers of the region. The farmers bring their olives here and watch as it is processed into oil. When Abir decided to produce olive oil she innovated by creating a new brand that is aimed for the international market. In 2015 she created Cillium Olive Oil Brand. She created the brand, designed the packaging and managed the marketing of the brand. Today she is in charge of all olive oil plantation and production she already exported in 2016 to Switzerland & Canada.
Africa, Tunisia, Kerkennah Island. Africa, Sabah (55), Fisher woman in Kerkennah Island. Najwa, daughter. Salah, brother-in-law. Asma (white head scarf), sister-in-law. Most everyone that lives on Kerkennah Island works in the fishing industry. These women are working on their fishing boat, a family run business. Their family owns land in the ocean that is inherited down through the generations and they own what swims within these palm frond perimeters. They set up traps for fish and crabs and throw nets to catch bigger fish. Sobah, learned to fish from her father when she was a young girl and they have raised their daughter Najwa to fish. She works as an engineer but loves getting out on the boat to help her family. Sobah’s brother-in-law worked as a government employee in an office but he was like a fish out of water and missed being on the boats. Now they go out together everyday to check the traps and fish. The women sing as they cook the crab, octopus and fish for lunch on a small propane stove they brought on the boat. “This job is tops, it’s the best job in the world,” Sobah tells me. Sitting in the warm sun, sucking on sweet crab claws, I believe her.
Africa, Tunisia, Gafsa. Hedia is the owner of Marn-Tex Textile garment factory, a supplier to Benetton clothing. She started this factory in 2010, the name is a mix of her kids’ names. “I got my diploma in textile tech in 1983. I worked as a teacher in design in Gafsa but once I got married and had children it was cheaper to stay home and take care of them. I started a little textile business that grew as Benetton took me on as a supplier. As a woman it was difficult supervising men, so I hire mostly women. Women are more serious workers and I trust them more. There are about 120 workers here and about 20 are men. Most of the workers make about $400 dinar ($160) a month. The workers have the option to stay later or work Saturdays to work overtime. If someone always stays late they get a bonus. Everyone has to take Sundays off.” Hedia never stops smiling and everyone seems to love her. She obviously cares deeply about her employees. She has hired about 14 workers with disabilities, including a few that are deaf. She even went overseas for a year to study sign language so she could communicate with them.
Africa, Tunisia, Kerkennah Island. Africa, Sabah (55), Fisher woman in Kerkennah Island. Najwa, daughter. Salah, brother-in-law. Asma (white head scarf), sister-in-law. Most everyone that lives on Kerkennah Island works in the fishing industry. These women are working on their fishing boat, a family run business. Their family owns land in the ocean that is inherited down through the generations and they own what swims within these palm frond perimeters. They set up traps for fish and crabs and throw nets to catch bigger fish. Sobah, learned to fish from her father when she was a young girl and they have raised their daughter Najwa to fish. She works as an engineer but loves getting out on the boat to help her family. Sobah’s brother-in-law worked as a government employee in an office but he was like a fish out of water and missed being on the boats. Now they go out together everyday to check the traps and fish. The women sing as they cook the crab, octopus and fish for lunch on a small propane stove they brought on the boat. “This job is tops, it’s the best job in the world,” Sobah tells me. Sitting in the warm sun, sucking on sweet crab claws, I believe her.
Africa, Tunisia, Gafsa. About 20 women work in this weaving co-op earning about 400 Dinar a month (about $160).
Africa, Tunisia, Zaghouan. Fermes Ali Sfar olive oil mill. Kadouja Sghir took over the innovative oil mill with her son Mohamed after the death of her husband. Tesoro Del Rio olive oil. Their female engineer testing the quality of the oil.
Africa, Tunisia, El Fahs, Domain Kanzari olive oil factory. A boutique olive oil brand. Has modern facilities and can do big capacity production. Marwa Kanzari, manager. Conveyer belt for olives.
Africa, Tunisia, Zaghouan, Oued El Kenz. Fermes Ali Sfar olive oil mill. Kadouja Sghir took over the innovative oil mill with her son Mohamed after the death of her husband. Women harvesting the olives by hand. Tesoro Del Rio olive oil.
Africa, Tunisia, Sidi Aich. Marn-Tex garment textile factory.
Africa, Tunisia, Kerkennah Island. Fatima learned to make fishing nets from her father as it used to be a man’s job. She makes about ten dinars a net (about $4).
Africa, Tunisia, Zaghouan, Oued El Kenz. Fermes Ali Sfar olive oil mill. Kadouja Sghir took over the innovative oil mill with her son Mohamed after the death of her husband. Women working the olive press. Tesoro Del Rio olive oil.
Africa, Tunisia, El Fahs, Domain Kanzari olive oil factory. A boutique olive oil brand. Has modern facilities and can do big capacity production. Marwa Kanzari, manager. Conveyer belt for olives.
Africa, Tunisia, Gafsa. Selem works at the Marn-Tex Textile garment factory, a supplier to Benetton clothing. “I work here to help support her family, there are five girls. My father looks for daily work and my mother works in agriculture. I’m the only one in my family with a fixed salary. I stopped school at 9 years old so my work options were limited. I take the bus here everyday and I’m very happy that I have a job.” Hedia is the owner of Marn-Tex Textile garment factory, a supplier to Benetton clothing. She started this factory in 2010, the name is a mix of her kids’ names. “I got my diploma in textile tech in 1983. I worked as a teacher in design in Gafsa but once I got married and had children it was cheaper to stay home and take care of them. I started a little textile business that grew as Benetton took me on as a supplier. As a woman it was difficult supervising men, so I hire mostly women. Women are more serious workers and I trust them more. There are about 120 workers here and about 20 are men. Most of the workers make about $400 dinar ($160) a month. The workers have the option to stay later or work Saturdays to work overtime. If someone always stays late they get a bonus. Everyone has to take Sundays off.”
Africa, Tunisia, El Fahs, Domain Kanzari olive oil factory. A boutique olive oil brand. Has modern facilities and can do big capacity production. Marwa Kanzari, manager. Men unloading freshly picked olives.
Africa, Tunisia, Bizerte. Assembly line at the Leoni Mateur German car wiring factory in Bizerte. Out of 5000 workers here 80 percent are women. The pay depends on the skill but the average workers makes about 400 Dinar or $200 a month. Chiraz works control check on the assembly line.
Africa, Tunisia, Tozeur. In traditional Berber dress. This woman is married three times and about to divorce for the third time because of sexual and violent abuse by her husbands. Just about everyone in this area works in dates. The women earn about 200 Diner or $90 a month. Date product production. Cluster Dguech Agribusiness. Cluster Dguech is a cluster of 2 agribusiness companies located in the underdeveloped rural governorate of Gafsa. This particular area is known for the quality of its “Deglet Nour” dates. The industry has a strong history in the region and serves an important role in the local economy. The two companies produce innovative, natural, and healthy date-based products, including a caffeine-free coffee substitute, gluten-free date flour, date jam, and natural date sugar. With the award of a recent patent, the companies have begun to expand distribution to new regions in Tunisia. However, production is largely based on manual labor. The companies cannot continue to expand without automating their production line. Moreover, to distribute throughout Tunisia, the companies must alter their current packaging methods ensure more stable products with longer shelf-lives. To address these constraints, the companies must find and recruit qualified workers to operate the production line accordingly, but have been unable to do so. BRCP and the Dguech cluster designed a combined HR and pre-employment training collaboration effort that will locate, screen, and train newly recruited workers to run an automated line producing shelf-stable goods. As a direct result, the companies expect to hire a combined total of 100 artisans by the end of December, 2017.
Africa, Tunisia, Gafsa, Sidi Aich. Ola Boutera, owner of Ola-Tex textile garment factory. Olatex is a garment supplier to Benetton. They have about twenty factories here, it’s cheap labor and good quality. They have social laws and strict laws here so the factories are well run. Average income for the women is 370 Dinar per month (about $150). Eighty girls work for her. “It’s unusual for a woman to own a factory, it’s the first time a woman has opened one in this area. I opened it here because it’s a very deprived region, most of the women in this area are not educated and needed work. I consider the girls as my own, I’m like a mother to them. Many of these girls escaped from working hard labor on local farms that they weren’t even getting paid for. The men were angry when they left to work elsewhere. There is a lot of gender-based violence from husbands, fathers, brothers, so it hasn’t been easy for many of these women. For many of them it’s not just financial gain but psychological freedom from living in these oppressive households. With some of these girls I’ve supplied them a safe place to live and even helped some with divorce. It’s mostly women working in the textile business. I like working with women, they have better concentration and are smarter than men. ”
Africa, Tunisia, Gafsa. Hedia is the owner of Marn-Tex Textile garment factory, a supplier to Benetton clothing. She started this factory in 2010, the name is a mix of her kids’ names. “I got my diploma in textile tech in 1983. I worked as a teacher in design in Gafsa but once I got married and had children it was cheaper to stay home and take care of them. I started a little textile business that grew as Benetton took me on as a supplier. As a woman it was difficult supervising men, so I hire mostly women. Women are more serious workers and I trust them more. There are about 120 workers here and about 20 are men. Most of the workers make about $400 dinar ($160) a month. The workers have the option to stay later or work Saturdays to work overtime. If someone always stays late they get a bonus. Everyone has to take Sundays off.” Hedia never stops smiling and everyone seems to love her. She obviously cares deeply about her employees. She has hired about 14 workers with disabilities, including a few that are deaf. She even went overseas for a year to study sign language so she could communicate with them.
Africa, Tunisia, Kasserine. Cillium Olive Oil. Abir Rabhi, the owner, is 31 years old, she has a university degree in Design art & communication. She worked 3 years as a teacher and in communication businesses. Her mother, also in the business, collects money from the farmers for processing their olives to oil. In 2015 she decided to have learn olive oil processing and production. It was natural for her to choose this field of work as she is a descendant of an old family of farmers. Her father (Mr Habib Rabhi) is a doctor but continued in parallel to work in their farm and developed the business by acquiring new lands. In 1991 Mr Habib Rabhi built an olive oil mill to produce olive oil juice for the farmers of the region. The farmers bring their olives here and watch as it is processed into oil. When Abir decided to produce olive oil she innovated by creating a new brand that is aimed for the international market. In 2015 she created Cillium Olive Oil Brand. She created the brand, designed the packaging and managed the marketing of the brand. Today she is in charge of all olive oil plantation and production she already exported in 2016 to Switzerland & Canada.
BRCP_2nd Annual Smart Tuniais Job Fair-7.12.17 Photo
Africa, Tunisia, Douar Hicher. Rihab is single and lives with her parents. She says goodbye to her mother Behija and walks to the bus that is provided for her and her co-workers from the low income Douar Hicher area. The bus ride takes just over an hour to get to the Leoni Mateur car wiring factory in Bizerte where she works. This company employs mostly women as they seem to apply themselves better than men to this specific focused conveyor belt factory work. It also helps give unskilled women employment opportunities, especially since tourism in the country has dropped. Rihab did not pursue her studies and that’s why she could not apply to other jobs like secretary or assistant. She is happy with her current job in the car cable factory. She is very disciplined and is satisfied with her life. She wishes to stay in this company and get promoted to a supervisor position. She manages to save from her salary and finds it fulfilling because she has a job. Rihab dreams of getting married and having a family. Out of 5000 workers here 80 percent are women. The pay depends on the skill but average about 400 Dinar or $200 a month.
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