[HN Gopher] An untold story of the Tunisian startup ecosystem
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An untold story of the Tunisian startup ecosystem
Author : redbell
Score : 33 points
Date : 2023-07-09 10:20 UTC (12 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.realisticoptimist.io)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.realisticoptimist.io)
| Cyph0n wrote:
| Tunisian here. The local ecosystem isn't that strong relative to
| other players in the MENA region.. for now. If you dig under the
| covers, the most successful examples and exits started out in
| Europe or NA by Tunisian founders with a secondary presence in
| Tunisia.
|
| I think it comes down to two main reasons:
|
| 1) Insane levels of regulation and bureaucracy, with a sprinkle
| of corruption.
|
| 2) A banking system that seems diversified and modern on the
| surface, but is actually an oligopoly and extremely behind
| technologically.
|
| That being said, I think there is a lot of talent in the country.
| Also, at least among the younger generation, there has been a
| shift towards learning English (instead of French) to better work
| with the US market.
|
| Side note: I've always wanted to work on a fintech startup for
| the Tunisian market to help with point (2) above, but as soon as
| I think about dealing with the banking system and government
| regulations, I reconsider.. One interesting player in this space
| is Flouci.
| mkoubaa wrote:
| Tunisian here too. Speaking English is also an advantage
| because the anglosphere isn't predisposed to prejudice against
| north Africans.
| Cyph0n wrote:
| Good point.
| Cannabat wrote:
| Can you elaborate or point to some writing on this topic? Who
| is prejudiced against North Africans and why?
| zen_1 wrote:
| >Who is prejudiced against North Africans and why?
|
| I think France, Germany and the Netherlands have some
| degree of prejudice against North Africans (specifically
| Moroccans and Algerians).
|
| As for why, you'd need to consult at a history book and
| look at the socioeconomic statuses of the aforementioned
| North African diasporas in those countries.
| Simon_O_Rourke wrote:
| Are there any French banks with a presence in the Tunisian
| market that would offer a smoother integration for any fintech
| start-up?
| Cyph0n wrote:
| Not entirely sure. But just to clarify, it isn't purely a
| tech problem, but also a lower level banking infra problem.
|
| Two things to note:
|
| 1. Tunisian currency is tightly controlled by the central
| bank, which means it is very difficult to move currency out
| of the country. Therefore, you - as a fintech startup - would
| need to integrate with the local banking system and
| separately setup a legal pipeline to be able to move money
| out (e.g., to spend on infra costs, SaaS products, etc.).
|
| 2. Credit cards do not exist and debit cards are not widely
| used for payments; cash is still king. So any startup that
| wants wide market penetration needs to deal with cash at some
| level. It's kind of a chicken and egg problem.
| aogaili wrote:
| Looks to me the issue is with the author's mindset rather than
| the market.
|
| He wants to build startups to compete on global scale, when half
| of his country doesn't have a bank account...maybe he is solving
| the wrong problems..
| mkoubaa wrote:
| A VC backable startup by definition has to scale to greater
| than 12 million people. If you're point is "why doesn't author
| just start a small business?" then you are seriously missing
| the point
| aogaili wrote:
| I know what a VC start-up aim is, that's basic knowledge.
|
| But talent pool is limited and all is being either offshored
| or using for VC gambling when they clearly have many local
| problems by the author's assertion.
|
| You seriously missed my point.
| mkoubaa wrote:
| Talent pool is not limited, it is a highly educated and
| tech literate society.
| aogaili wrote:
| It is a 12 million after all, and you a have a finite
| number of resources that can be deployed to different
| problems.
|
| It's not like the US where they can import minds from all
| over the world and they already boost a high population.
| aogaili wrote:
| My point is that it has finite set and limited resources,
| that mind resources could be used to solve the many local
| issues. Instead they are offshored as cheap labor.
|
| The author is pointing fingers and those who try to solve
| local problems, yet he goes later to say there are tons
| of local problems and half the country doesn't have bank
| account.
| mkoubaa wrote:
| I don't understand the point, nobody is saying that
| Tunisia's startup scene will rival the US
| aogaili wrote:
| And I didn't say either. But asserting that the pool is
| not limited is a false statement, it is limited and
| small.
| mighmi wrote:
| First of all, I love such perspectives. Could anyone point me to
| more similar things (describing the business worlds elsewhere)?
|
| Aside from corruption, funding etc. the author is in a veritable
| smorgasbord. There are countless unsolved problems in the local
| market because few seek to address them. Instead of competing
| with a thousand other startups for a reddit clone or some sort of
| dev tooling, he could concentrate on solving day to day struggles
| of the average Tunisian, transforming people's lives through
| tech.
|
| Indeed, that's what the startups in the incubator were doing! But
| instead of embracing that, he seems to complain that they don't
| want VC funding, they don't want to scale to the whole world? And
| then complains about how it's difficult for them to get VC
| funding... How strange and circular this logic!
|
| In Eastern Europe or Latin America, many companies grew quickly
| doing this a few decades ago - developing alternative payment
| systems etc. to bank the unbanked as aogaili alludes to. How
| amazing it would be if today we had the chance to develop new
| infrastructure on which future products would be built! Alas,
| everything seems done and ossified. How green the grass on the
| other side is...
| jonnycomputer wrote:
| While I don't think you should have been DVd, I think that you
| are ignoring his argument that the Tunisian market is just not
| there. And, frankly, if you can compete, with local talent, on
| a global scale, you have a lot going for you, and, it will
| inevitably lead to more at-home investment to support all the
| money you are bringing into the local economy.
|
| I also find it hard to justify criticizing someone's decision
| with years of experience in that market.
| aogaili wrote:
| Market is small but these counties have tons of issues that
| need to be fixed instead offshoring and mind drain their
| resources
|
| Middle eastern mindset is either to migrate, work remotely
| for foreign company or at best get VC, copy foreign startu0p,
| and try to get some regional market share to be acquired
| later by western companies.
|
| You can't have a society that produces global unicorns when
| ahmf of it doesn't have banking, name one country that
| managed to do this.
| mighmi wrote:
| I say the above out of nostalgia for my past, when I was
| working in the Romanian and Russian speaking markets. In
| those days, charging people for software was a no go as you
| would just invite warz people to break them but
| infrastructure and business services were valid as were
| assisting companies who wanted to enter the markets for
| whatever reason. The goal was to make a self-profitable
| company and build it from the ground up which is how the
| Eastern tech hubs grew.
|
| I believe this is a better model than chasing after VC money
| a la San Francisco, especially when the VC pipelines have
| dried up even in those areas.
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