Opening of the second edition of the "Business Forum DiafrikInvest"
Marouane EL ABASSI, Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT), participated on 10 March 2020, in Tunis, at the opening of the second edition of the "Business Forum DiafrikInvest" organized by Tunisia corporate citizenship confederation (CONECT) in partnership with ANIMA Invest Network.
On this occasion, Mr. EL ABASSI recalled that in spite of its fundamental role in fighting inflation and ensuring financial stability, the Central Bank of Tunisia is aware notably of the need to open up on its ecosystem. Thus, "Tunisia is a country endowed with a great capacity in the area of innovation, the objective now being to guarantee a proper synchronization between the economic sphere and technological progress”, as he stated.
The Governor added that the BCT has positioned itself as a "facilitator for the Startups and Fintechs ecosystem". The idea is to seize relevant opportunities, which not only reshaped undeniably the banking and financial industry, but also, preserve a sound operation of the financial system. “The target being to open up, understand and initiate change! As highlighted Mr. EL ABASSI.
In order to encourage innovation-based entrepreneurship, the BCT has created a web-site dedicated to Fintechs, a "Regulatory Sandbox" and will launch its BCT-LAB in June 2020.
The objective is not only to provide Startups with means to achieve their ambitions, but also to initiate the financial inclusion works. Hence, some exchange facilities are being considered in addition to efforts made with respect to the banking interoperability. "Thus, the first payment institutions, authorized by the Central Bank of Tunisia, will soon be operational," as he announced.
The Governor of the Central Bank also stressed the importance of mobility and opportunities to take up with the Tunisian Diaspora. For Mr. El ABASSI, the BCT, aware of the capacities and potential of Tunisians Living Abroad, is determined to collaborate effectively with this pool of skills. "A bridge was built up linking the Central Bank of Tunisia and the Diaspora," as he declared.