Startup Ecosystem Report: Kairouan
Kairouan scores 31.39 of 100 in the MENA region SFI, positioning it in the last position of all studied cities. This is primarily due to its highly imbalanced ecosystem, with strengths in the Infrastructure, Macro, and Human Capital domains unable to substitute for low scores in Market and Finance, and an extremely challenging score on the Startup Scene domain.
The highest scoring domain for Kairouan is Macro, due to the city’s strong political and legal framework. The Infrastructure domain also scores well, helped by reliable and affordable utilities and decent ICT options. Indicators in the Human Capital domain score slightly above average relative to other cities in the MENA region, positively influenced by the availability of skilled labour, and negatively affected by extremely high levels of unemployment.
The next highest scoring domain, Market, shows Kairouan is benefited from Tunisia’s favourable trade openness, though hindered by poor logistic performance. The Finance and Startup Scene domains remain challenges for the city.
