Tunisia will host a regional meeting from October 6 to 9, 2026, aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and business support structures in North Africa. The event, organized by the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), will bring together around 150 participants, including SME leaders, particularly those led by women and young entrepreneurs, as well as business support organizations.
The meeting aims to strengthen the presence of SMEs in African value chains and make them aware of the opportunities, legal, commercial, and digital tools, and conditions for accessing markets offered by the continental agreement. The event is part of the "SME Booster" program, designed to provide concrete responses to the challenges faced by SMEs in the African market.
For Tunisia, this meeting is particularly important in the perspective of future continental events, including the pan-African forum dedicated to the development of intra-African trade and investment, "Biashara Afrika", scheduled to take place in Tunis in 2027 in partnership with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
The meeting will focus on the development of the real capacities of enterprises and support structures, which will be trained to better understand the rules of the agreement and the information platforms made available by the Secretariat. The event will also enable direct contacts between exporters, importers, distributors, and trade actors through B2B meetings.
The "SME Booster" initiative was designed to address the challenges faced by SMEs in the African market, including the lack of economic intelligence, weak export preparation, high certification costs, trade financing constraints, fragmented supply chains, and a lack of knowledge of continental legal rules.
The meeting is expected to consolidate Tunisia's position as a space for economic dialogue, a gateway to Africa, and a link between the North and South. The event will also highlight the importance of SMEs in the African Continental Free Trade Area and their role in promoting economic integration and growth in Africa.
The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area hopes that this meeting will contribute to the effective integration of SMEs into continental value chains and enable them to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the AfCFTA.
Key points
- The meeting aims to strengthen the presence of SMEs in African value chains.
- The event is part of the "SME Booster" program, designed to provide concrete responses to the challenges faced by SMEs in the African market.
- The meeting will focus on the development of the real capacities of enterprises and support structures.
