Tunisia: Launch of the CAP Emploi Programme to Boost the Economy and Create Sustainable Jobs
African development bank
About the event
The CAP Emploi Programme, a results-based financing initiative designed to transform Tunisia’s employment sector, was officially launched on 26 February 2025 in Tunis during a high-level workshop bringing together public and private stakeholders from the entrepreneurship, employment, and vocational training ecosystem. Led by the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training, in partnership with the African Development Bank, the National Agency for Employment and Self-Employment (ANETI), and the Tunisian Solidarity Bank (BTS BANK), the programme provides an integrated response to youth unemployment by combining skills development, coaching, entrepreneurship financing, support for business formalization, and job placement services.
The African Development Bank is supporting CAP Emploi through a €90 million financing package, complemented by a $2.5 million grant from the AFAWA Fund (Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa), aimed in particular at promoting women’s entrepreneurship. This is the first programme in Tunisia financed by the Bank through a results-based financing instrument, under which disbursements are tied to the achievement of predefined targets, thereby strengthening a culture of performance and results-based management.
Structured around three pillars - short-term training aligned with private sector needs; an integrated entrepreneurship support package (including technical assistance, zero-interest loans provided through BTS BANK, and incentives for business formalization through the auto-entrepreneur status); and institutional support for employment and MSME-related reforms- the programme aims to generate nearly 118,900 direct and indirect jobs in Tunisia. It fully aligns with national employment and economic development priorities and reflects the shared commitment of the Tunisian Government, the African Development Bank, and their partners to position entrepreneurship as a key driver of sustainable job creation.