Give wings to your projects

The Business Angels seek to help create and promote investments by individuals in unlisted companies with high growth potential.

'' By definition, a Business Angel is an individual who invests part of its heritage in an innovative company with potential and, who is freely available to the entrepreneur's skills, experience, financial support and his network of relationships and part of his time.''

A business angel invests his own money and is generally a person who had a successful career. It seeks a financial return, but takes more adventure as a hobby or a passion. '' This person want to help build a business and human adventure.''

The concept exists in Tunisia, it is certainly new, but begins to grow. Its importance is that it helps young entrepreneurs get started in business without having to suffer the burdens of bank indebtedness and loaning problems because of generally low credit. A real means of alternative finance practiced by some groups such as ''Carthage Business Angels'', the very first association of Business Angels in Tunisia with a main mission of funding innovative start-ups. Carthage Business Angels'' states that'' due to their dual contribution of capital and skills to young companies being created, they play a vital role in national economic development as start-ups could be a good way to reduce unemployment. This structure is'' the Tunisian Association for Investment Promotion and Support of Entrepreneurs by Business Angels''.

The association's goals are many and the most important is that it works to increase the number of Business Angel networks and bring together, in Tunisia, these networks.'

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From idea to project

The association finances business in the most critical phase by enhancing the credibility of the project in front of other investors, allowing the pooling of investment risk with other investors provides access to a company to facilitate the investment decision and allows for better corporate governance, '' Business Angels, invest alone or with others, are designed to be minority investors and stay as long as possible.''

The Network of Business Angels is the place where they meet with entrepreneurs seeking funding. Investing in Business Angels network allows to pool their investment capabilities and expertise.

'' Carthage Business Angels'' has undertaken since its inception general actions'' to make known business angels and their social and economic contribution to the entrepreneurial dynamic in Tunisia. It works to legitimize their actions, to create an environment legal and tax dedicated to business angels and support to their action in favor of innovative entrepreneurs.

The association also undertakes specific actions such as communication destination networks, partners and stakeholders in the creation and financing of innovative companies, business angels and potential project sponsors and media. It is developing a directory of Business Angels and organizes an annual conference that explains its objectives and actions.

"Carthage Business Angels" prelude to the lobbying of governments and communities, working closely and brings special insights to key national players. According Mr.Maher Kallel, the President of this association, "This concept is Anglo-Saxon. It is based on young people with innovative ideas and lack resources. These youth are then backed by business angels in order to move from an idea to the concrete and this very risky step is taken by Business Angels. This leaves the project mature and does not earn its financial contribution only 5 to 10% ".

The concept is continuing its development in Tunisia, access to private investment will certainly be easier and funding of innovative projects will be more attractive and accessible which can lead to the welfare of society by pushing forward the economy with its different sectors as Business Angels can help the seeds flourish.

Adnen Bel Hadj Yahia

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Interview with Leila Baghdadi

-Hello Mrs. Leila Baghdadi, thank you for this interview. First of all, we need to know more

about your career.

-It's a pleasure for me to make this interview and to see you again. As you know I am really

happy for this initiative. As for my career, I will begin with my academic background; I did

my undergraduate studies in Tunis ''El Campus'' but I finished at the University of Marseille

Aix-Provence. Afterwards, I did my master and PhD at the University of Paris I La Sorbonne

on International Trade and Development. I spent few years between Rome and Geneva

where I worked for International Organizations: the WTO (World Trade Organization)

and the ITC (International Trade Center) and when in Rome I worked for FAO (Food and

Agriculture Organization). Also, I worked as a researcher in Rome University Tor Vergata on

development and labor market issues. When I got back to Tunis I worked for UNDP (United

Nations Development Program) for 1 year before working for the University of Tunis.

-And that lead us to the second question, how did your Tunis Business School experience

started?

-Well, I heard about TBS and I was really happy about the project as I believe in the need of

English-oriented institution; a business school for students who can speak English fluently

because it's a major problem in the educational system and TBS can lead Tunisia to work

under International settings. I am a normal Tunisian coming from a middle class family and

I am not used to work in English and when I went abroad, especially in non-francophone

countries, it was really difficult to work with French which is no longer used in the

International Environment. Then, I believe in this project and I really hope that everything

will go in the best way.

Recently, the National Institute of Statistics estimated the increase of prices to almost 7%,

do you think that the government should take measures to reduce this inflation problems?

-Sometimes, governments use inflation or the increase in prices as a policy. Let me explain:

when you increase overall prices you can increase the demand and people will buy more and

more so we have more money in the economic circle which can result into providing more

jobs. The problem we are facing in Tunisia is that we have high rates of both inflation and

unemployment. .. Thus, this situation cannot be sustainable at the economic and/or at the

social level. So, yes, I think that the government must focus urgently on this problem.

-Don't you think that these economic problems are leading social problems?

-Economy and social factors are highly linked; of course when you are poor you can have all

types of social issues. Then, the economic problems are so big and if you don't know from

where to begin it might increase the social conflict which can be unstoppable at a certain

time. What I can say now, is that there is an unbreakable connection between social and 

economic factors and the problem is that we can reach instability because of an economic

problem.

-We all know that also tourism in Tunisia is especially linked to economy because it is one

of the biggest currencies. But these days it is also suffering. So, what should economists or

the government do to avoid this rising problem?

From a political point of view; foreign investors feel that Tunisia is a risky country, and

then what we should do here is to give a clear idea about what's happening in Tunisia. For

example; presenting a roadmap on the priorities for the economy (targeting inflation and

unemployment among others) is something extremely helpful to the business community

I think that a good and serious roadmap will help people to understand the new Tunisia.

-That's a great point of view. Perhaps there are some countries who are trying to help

Tunisia in its transition, and the USA has been in the first places to support by many deals

to finance the economy. Do you think that we need such support or that will increase the

dependence to the US?

-Well, I think all support is welcome but we should define the terms of support. It's like

international trade, it's good to have a deal but we need to know that it's even better to

have the best deal benefiting to Tunisian citizens in the first place.

-Yes, we should always take the best. Now what do you think of TBS as the first public

English learning business school?

-From my experience, adopting English as a teaching language is a very good and wise choice

as the best business schools in the world are English speaking. Though, in order to have an

international reputation we need support from the business environment as well as the

political environment.

-And what about the students?

-Ha! I really like TBS students, and you know that. I feel that they like the environment

despite of all difficulties and I truly understand that. My only advice for them is to follow

their dreams and never give up.

-Thank you Professor Leila, we really appreciate that.

Finally, we want to know your opinion about TBS Torch.

-Okay, TBS Torch is a very serious and interesting initiative and I like it from all clubs because

I think it gives a kind of professional experience for all the students.

Interviewed by Amal Ben Saad

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Climate change

Climate change has become a customary subject for most people in industrialized countries and a growing interest can be noticed in emerging countries such as China. This subject is discussed frequently in the news; there are numerous international negotiations on how to deal with it, as well as a heated scientific discussion…  

How had this theme been approached in the public debate? Who are the actors of the debate and to what extent?

  The first tensions generated by the recognition of the human society o the planet's limits are still not perceived in their generality. They offer, as a reflection on the man’s future, an obvious-interest topic. These tensions are multifaceted. Their interdependence makes them potentially a global character. We can organise their analysis around two categories: their sources - the human demography, the technical evolution - and their effects – the exhaustion or the lack of resources, the loss of biodiversity and the damage of the environment.

In the current state of things, the problem of global confinement is especially is manifested by disjoint phenomenon, apparently different from each other. The depletion of oil, or the scarcity of certain minerals, certainly generates reactions at several levels: discreet research of diversification by oil companies, evolution of technical ground or air transport, the consumers’ reactions... But the appearance of these events to a global phenomenon is not seen at this stage of their emergence.

The ozone hole, as the media names it, has the whole but its narrow technico-economic origin dry up its source.

The Scientific Debate  

The stormy exchanges practiced by the scientific community around the climate problem raises questions about the nature of the debate. Of course, what can push the well-known scientists to reach a rare level of vulgarity? 

First, we must be convinced that the motivation of the researcher is fed by two sources other than the joys of discovery: the quest for fame and the research of funding to fuel its research. The scientific reputation of the researcher is his oxygen. But, financing their field is a necessary food for hatching an individual or a team’s glory. Although the access to financing depends strongly on relations to political power. From this standpoint, the research of climate evolution occupies a very particular position: Its relation with the political power is made without any intermediate. Because even if scientific development is a powerful factor for society’s development, the scientist is not directly engaged in policy-making.

 The Economic Debate 

Actually, the debate that takes place in the economic backgrounds is sensibly more intricate and also more lasting than the scientific debate. The concept of scientific consensus is otherwise absent. Denying this anthropological origin of the changes observed, is based on the use of mechanisms over which man has no means to act, such as a variation in the intensity of solar radiation or the tectonic origin of the oceans’ rise. Without going further into the details, two approaches are possible to face threats: the adaptation of societal behaviors, and actions to slow or regress the phenomenon. 

In the case of a phenomenon that, as the climate, is at once global and reversible, the formulation of economic recommendations, that aim to reduce the alteration, runs into obstacles. The economist’s attitude is organized around a deep cleavage between two schools: One which recommends measures directly attacking the source of problems and another considering that the problem will be solved by itself as a result of the evolution of technical capacities, the market regulation and the adaptability of human. These two lines of thought are part of a common context which is the absence of market economy’s alternative. 

To tackle the economics of climate change, economists of all persuasions are using the tools tested by long practice, and particularly to the analysis Cost / benefit which consists essentially in approximating the expenditures made today and what it will yield or avoid tomorrow. Apparently, there is nothing more simple and common, but the use of this tool in the analysis of climate change, encounters an entirely new problem, in addition to the quantitative estimates, the rate with which climate change is occurring leaves no alternative but to overlook the cost / benefit strategy and opt for a faster solution.  

Whatever assumptions are about the physical dimension of the phenomenon, any economic analysis is based inevitably on two ethical presuppositions: the degree of solidarity with future generations and the degree of solidarity among nation-states in human society.

Climate Change on the Screen 

The appearance of the theme of climate change on TV or in the movies can sometimes shift the debate to the public scale. The media can indeed enhance the collective awareness, but it is most likely to weaken it by focusing on the most uncertain aspects of the phenomenon.

 Public opinion and political action  

Unlike the economic analysis and scientific knowledge, policy choices are constrained by the conditions of acceptability. It is not enough to decide, it must be followed. This dimension of the problem takes different aspects in democratic countries, where a public opinion tipping can sweep the government; in totalitarian countries, like China, where the risk is the rise of an insurgency, and finally in countries where the state is weak and does not have the means to act. In all cases, the criterion of acceptability and feasibility determines the limits of possible action.

Zeïneb Sahnoun

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Think outside the box

The public prosecution officially accused Mr. Kamel L’tayef –businessman, more suspected even known by public opinion as the advisor and coordinator of all operations of the deposed president Ben Ali – of conspiracy to state security therefore travel banned him, after receiving a petition   provided by Mr. Cherif Jbeli , an “independent” lawyer .

                        “First rule of business, protect your investment.” —Etiquette of the Banker 1775

In business like in politics, if you don’t protect yourself you are doomed to failure. This is exactly what the government is doing. With the ascent of the movement NIDA (the call of Tunisia) -which is winning some points since his creation with the political violence exercised against him, the government “blindness” towards the infractions to national security done by the salafists and with both the charisma and experience of their current leader Beji Kaid Essebsi who occupied the position of prime minister of the transitional government- , the troika and especially the movement NAHDA felt the threat of a serious contender in the next elections hence the need to prevent its ascent. If we rely to public opinion, a personality like Kamel L’tayef should have testimonials and most important proofs that may knock down many characters of the opposition side mostly from NIDA- which is mainly composed of members of the RCD the ex-party of the deposed president- and thus maintain the NADHA’s leverage. But would he cooperate or take his secrets to the tomb hoping that NIDA wins the next elections and reconsider his potential sentence?

     “The art of politics consists in knowing precisely when it is necessary to hit an opponent slightly below the belt.”  -Konrad Adenauer-

Let’s have a deeper look at the juridical circumstances that went along with the accusation. Is it conceivable that an “independent” lawyer succeed to have crucial information concerning someone who’s conspiring to state security where the ministry of interior and all the state institutions with all their powerful means failed? Does he have some kind of “independent” intelligence agency? Are proofs solid enough to hold such a case against someone as powerful as Kamel L’tayef does not need legal warrants to be provided? Or is it an escape plan is case of the government is blamed for investigating on an opponent?  Is this the new way of the legitimate government and its very independent justice? Can proofs acquired without legal warrants hold in court? Which leads us to the next question: Are they really pursuing Kamel L’tayef to take down the opposition?  Or is a political maneuver to demonstrate strength in order to shiver the NIDA party?

Malek Ben Temessek

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China: The appetite of the dragon

Over the last few years China has raised itself between the most powerful and influent countries in the world, that’s thank to their political decisions to open up this communist country to the world. China has known one of the biggest economic growths over the last years (10% of growth)

China has become a very attractive country for worldwide companies.Its development is based on exportation.

Indeed it has built its economic development thanks to its large and cheap labor. China is a country that attracts a lot of companies that delocalized there in order to increase their benefits and to win the huge Chinese market. The Chinese population is up to 1 350 000 000 habitants which means 1 350 000 000 potential buyers.

Besides, the Chinese Market is a relatively new market, in 1970 the Chinese government decided to start a socialist market economy after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976,the government led by Deng Xiaoping decided to open the Chinese market to foreign investments because that would decrease the unemployment ratefrom…….% to 6.5% and that would modernize the Chinese economy while keeping its political regime.

Since 1987,with the industrial boom, China, nicknamed the workshop of the world,hastaken a major role in the industry of textile, iron, electronic andlow quality objects keeping a very low price.

China is really integrated in the international scene, it is member in all the international financial organisms, IMF in 1980, World Bank in 1981, and APEC in 1993 and finally it is part of the World Trade organization in 2001.

The communist ideology doesn’t exist anymore in China; there is a growing idea of the liberal economy in an authoritarian regime with a unique political party.

The Olympic Games in 2008 whichtook place in Beijing comforts China’s position in the international scene

The economists agree to say that China is going to becomethe first economic power in 4 years.

But how long will China stay the first economic power in the world?

Well not that long .First of all because of the political decision made by the Chinese government of the unique born. The strength of China is its young, active and hard working population. This decision will decrease the number of labor and China needs its labor in order to maintain the growth of the economy.

Besides,this decision made by the government to reduce the number of newborns will lead to an aging of the population and that could lead to a problem of financing the retirements.

Moreover, china has a problem in the repartition of its wealth( 15.5% of the Chinese population live  under the threshold of poverty ), the Chinese littoralconcentrating the majority of the population and the majority of the activities whereas the inside stays underdeveloped.

China has also to ameliorate its relations with Japan and South Korea if this country wants to have a major role in the international scene. South Korea is the country that trades most with China(17.1% of Chinese exportations go to South Korea and 9.3% of Chinese importations come for South Korea) but by supporting the North Korean regime the Chinese government is threatening to deteriorate its relations with South Korea.

Besides, China is in conflict with Japan about the Senkaku Islands that both claim as part of their territory. This conflict has already cost to the Chinese government more than b$ 500, and the Japanese companies fled China because very recently a big wave of violent strikes was led against the Japanese companies in China.

Japan is the biggest supplier of China, 11.2% of Chinese importations come from Japan and 7.8% of Chinese exportations go to Japan.

China may have already lost a huge economical partner and it may have even lost its influence in the south eastern Asian countries

Moreover in the future, China will also have to face the competition against India that will become second economic power behind the USA in four years.

China has a lot of advantages that comforts this country as one of the most powerful countries around the world. China is a country that developed itself very quickly and raised itself as a major figure in the international scene. But it has also a lot of improvements especially in the foreign relations field to do in order to maintain its position in the podium of the most powerful and influential countries around the world.

                                                                                Mourad Khaled

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Gulf states possess a wealth of investment opportunities

The high oil prices in 2011 and 2012 had a significant positive impact on the oil producing countries, particularly those in the Gulf region, where these countries have achieved budget surpluses in their budgets close to $ 186 billion.

From this point, the oil-producing countries in the Gulf should benefit financial surpluses achieved during the last three years in the diversification of income sources and investments in projects to support the process of economic development. They are able to bring more foreign investment in supporting infrastructure projects that contribute to perform more the labor and increase the gross domestic product.

These countries can benefit from the case of a slowdown in the global economy and its transformation into an investment opportunity. The UK energy sector, for example, has been suffering for months with rising costs, which prompted the British government to seek alternative sources of energy. This can be a great opportunity for the Gulf countries, which invest in other benefits of energy in the long term to avoid the risk of a decline in world prices of energy.

And following the rise in oil prices, the Gulf countries benefit more funds to invest abroad more than what can be spent on the acquisition of businesses and investments, and thus began a portion of funds Gulf liquid to flow to emerging markets. Their investment fund is particularly active in recent years. They invest around the world and particularly in France.

 Flows of foreign direct investment increased from Arab countries, mainly the Gulf from 24% to 24.6 billion dollars last year.

Many motivations behind these investment flows of Gulf in emerging markets: is that business growth of GCC exceeds the capacity of their local markets. So it has to go outside so it can continue to grow. Qatar, for example, has 20 banks.

In addition, several Gulf companies believes that the skills and backgrounds confer a competitive advantage by capturing some of the opportunities in emerging markets.

So,  foreign direct investment knows importance following its ability to contribute to the resolution of national economic challenges such as infrastructure development and promote competition in the local market and find new jobs for citizens and the development of legislation.

Rawdha Dridi

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Young Spaniards facing unemployment

A country deep in recession since 2008, Spain has been facing major deficiencies in its labor market.  Youth unemployment has been a persistent phenomenon that has worsened during the last crisis. According to a report by Spain’s National Statistics Institute, more than double the European Union average of the population is jobless.

 In 2012, the national unemployment rate reached 22.85%, the highest rate in nearly 17 years and the current highest in the industrialized world. Spain’s National Statistics Institute reports that the unemployment rate in Spain increased to 25.02% in the third quarter of 2012 from 24.63% in the second quarter of 2012; this explains the rapid deficit in the government control over its labor market. Looking back at the country’s history, we notice that from 1987 until 2012, Spain's unemployment rate averaged 16.6% reaching an all-time high of 25.0% in September of 2012 and a record low of 8.0% in June of 2007.  Emphasizing the deep crisis the country is currently living.

As the government undergoes the biggest slash in public spending in recent times, it is to blame for the relatively high unemployment rate. The numerous deficiencies in the government’s policies not only resulted in the increase of the number of the unemployed (5.2 million by the end of 2012) but also the decrease in the number of job seekers which is viewed as one additional undesired effect to add to the already fragile economy.

The population’s work conditions and specifically those of the young people depend harshly on the efficiency of the country's educational system. The transition from the education environment to the work environment is, therefore, strongly conditioned by the employment situation and the job matching equality. The youngsters-those aged between 19 and 25 years old-find themselves facing a decision of whether or not to continue going to school. When it comes to leaving school early, Spain stands out with its high percentage (30.6%) of people aged between 18 and 24 not completing their elementary school and not having any kind of training. That does not only accentuate the hard entry to the work market but also puts the future of the youngsters in jeopardy especially that most companies are becoming highly demanding when it comes to work qualifications and requirements. In other words, the likelihood of a young person getting a stable and well remunerated job depends on the quality and quantity of the education they received.

This tends to have a negative effect on the percentage of young people entering the labor market and, thereby, explains the unbalanced job matching equality. That triggers off the threat of a brain drain and as Ignacio Escolar, author of the country’s most popular political blog and former editor of the newspaper Publico mentioned “This is the least hopeful and best educated generation in Spain, and it's like a national defeat that they have to travel abroad to find work”.

Polarization, education imbalance and the deficient segmentation of the job market play major roles in building up to the ever rising unemployment rate in the country. The last reform the government made to increase the number of trainings offered was mainly focused on university education. This polarization did not only lead to imbalances between the job demand and supply at different education levels but also resulted in high levels of unemployment among graduates.

The limited effectiveness of the active labor market is reflected through the active labor market policies (ALMP), which aim at boosting labor force participation along with reducing structural unemployment.  These policies failed at accomplishing the goal as they were only minor attempts to minimize the unemployment rate and ease the transition process to new jobs.

It is for all the reasons stated above that the Spanish government must mobilize its resources towards examining and fighting those issues, in order to avoid a longer recession.

For that purpose, it is necessary that the government reconsiders its policies. A good first step would be to maintain a good educational system. This could be achieved by surveying and supporting the students who are at risk which will reduce the rate of early dropouts. This measure will also improve the quantity and quality of education of the young Spaniards, paving the way for them to successfully enter the job market.

Considering the already weak economy, the government is facing a historical challenge; will it be able to bring the country out of the harsh recession and back on its feet? It seems that both the government’s position and the fate of the young Spaniards depend on it.

                                                                                                           Sarah Briki

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