TUNISIA ICT COMPETITIVENESS PROJECT Quarterly Report April - June 2013

The project aims to increase and develop ICT and ICT-enabled entrepreneurship, grow and develop Tunisia's ICT workforce, and develop ICT policy and regulatory reform. Component 1 focuses on increasing and developing ICT and ICT-enabled entrepreneurship. The project assesses comparative and competitive advantage in the ICT sector, selects ICT market segments, and supports SMEs with employment and export potential. This component also stimulates the provision of sustainable financing for high-potential ICT and ICT-enabled companies and SMEs, enhances equity and quasi-equity financing, and develops a DCA partial guarantee. Component 2 focuses on growing and developing Tunisia's ICT workforce. The project identifies companies to partner with on training, internships, hiring, and capacity building, and builds public-sector partnerships. It also identifies private or public training institutions, designs and implements training programs, maps labor demand and supply in the ICT sector, assesses and recommends improvements to ICT curriculum, and develops job-matching programs, including job fairs. Component 3 focuses on developing ICT policy and regulatory reform. The project develops an ICT technical support/outreach and consensus-building framework, defines an enabling environment reform agenda, proposes enabling environment reforms, comments on draft revisions to the Investment Code, analyzes e-governance and e-commerce laws and procedures, establishes an ICT Task Force, amends the Telecommunications Code in accordance with international best practice, enhances financial access, reviews labor market issues to stimulate employment in ICT and ICT-enabled sectors, initiates dialogue and coordination with relevant stakeholders, and conducts public/private workshops. The project has made significant progress in all three components. In Component 1, the project has assessed comparative and competitive advantage in the ICT sector and selected ICT market segments. It has also supported SMEs with employment and export potential and stimulated the provision of sustainable financing for high-potential ICT and ICT-enabled companies and SMEs. In Component 2, the project has identified companies to partner with on training, internships, hiring, and capacity building, and built public-sector partnerships. It has also identified private or public training institutions, designed and implemented training programs, mapped labor demand and supply in the ICT sector, assessed and recommended improvements to ICT curriculum, and developed job-matching programs, including job fairs. In Component 3, the project has developed an ICT technical support/outreach and consensus-building framework, defined an enabling environment reform agenda, proposed enabling environment reforms, commented on draft revisions to the Investment Code, analyzed e-governance and e-commerce laws and procedures, established an ICT Task Force, amended the Telecommunications Code in accordance with international best practice, enhanced financial access, reviewed labor market issues to stimulate employment in ICT and ICT-enabled sectors, initiated dialogue and coordination with relevant stakeholders, and conducted public/private workshops. The project has also faced operational challenges, including delays in implementing some activities and difficulties in engaging some stakeholders. However, the project has proposed solutions to these challenges, including revising project timelines and engaging additional stakeholders. The planned activities for the next quarter include continuing to implement Component 1, Component 2, and Component 3 activities, including supporting SMEs with employment and export potential, developing job-matching programs, including job fairs, and amending the Telecommunications Code in accordance with international best practice. The project will also continue to engage stakeholders and conduct public/private workshops to promote the project's objectives.