Tunisian entrepreneurs are proving that success lies beyond their home country’s borders. Recent acquisitions of Tunisian startups InstaDeep and Expensya by international companies demonstrate the value of targeting customers in international markets such as the U.K., the U.S., and the European Union.
Tunisian tech entrepreneurs recognize that their domestic market is small, prompting them to quickly expand internationally. By working with elite international customers, they have realized that they can offer unique value and innovate as much as competitors in Silicon Valley or Asia.
Both InstaDeep and Expensya, founded in Tunisia, have customers across Europe and the U.S., with major clients including Deutsche Bahn and BNP Paribas. Tunisia’s strategic location and successful diaspora work in favor of these entrepreneurs, providing easy access to European countries and the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.
Tunisia’s startup ecosystem also offers an ideal environment for testing ideas, investing in research and development, and expanding into new markets. Startups that solely target the Tunisian market of 12 million people miss out on the opportunity to scale their innovations to larger and more mature markets.
While Tunisian businesses may not readily invest in tech or improving their processes, they are more inclined to engage with global companies. This leads startups to build directly for global clients, as was the case with nextProtein, a Franco-Tunisian agritech startup that exclusively serves European customers.
Limited scaling potential in African markets also drives Tunisian startups to focus on Europe and the U.S. Enterprise-based models face challenges in scaling across Africa, prompting entrepreneurs to look beyond the continent.
Securing funding is another hurdle for startups focused only on the domestic market due to Tunisian bureaucratic hurdles. European references enhance startups’ credibility during international fundraising conversations as the government does not typically purchase from startups.
Despite expanding their customer base overseas, Tunisian startups value the country’s affordable and strong technical talent pool. The presence of reputable local universities in applied math and computer science makes Tunisia an excellent place to hire deep tech and software talent.
While most successful Tunisian entrepreneurs have lived abroad and have passports and networks in other countries, not all startups choose to expand beyond Tunisia. Save Your Wardrobe, a British-Tunisian fashion tech startup, has a majority of its team in Tunisia, benefiting from the country’s technical expertise while working with international brands.
Overall, Tunisian tech startups are embracing international markets to achieve success, recognizing that their homeland offers unique advantages such as talent pool and affordability.
