Tunisia Advances Inclusive Growth Through Social and Solidarity Economy Forum

From May 26 to 28, 2025, the Forum on the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) and Social Innovation convened in Tunis, Tunisia, spotlighting the country’s growing leadership in inclusive and sustainable development. Co-organized by the Ministry of Economy and Planning, the Delegation of the European Union to Tunisia, and the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Forum brought together more than 200 stakeholders, including representatives from government ministries, employers’ and workers’ organizations, civil society, SSE enterprises, youth leaders, international experts, and development partners.

The event marked a significant milestone in Tunisia’s decade-long effort to integrate SSE as a strategic pathway to employment, social cohesion, gender equity, and territorial resilience.

A Decade of ILO Engagement Fuels National SSE Momentum

Tunisia’s SSE journey has been shaped by sustained engagement with the ILO over the past ten years. This began with a pivotal conference in May 2015, titled “SSE as a driver of development and employment.” That event catalyzed national interest and led to the formulation of a series of projects and institutional reforms. One key outcome was the adoption of Tunisia’s SSE Law in 2020, with support from the ILO’s PROMESS (Promotion of the Social and Solidarity Economy) initiative.

The ILO’s portfolio in Tunisia includes targeted initiatives like:

• FORTER’ESS, which empowered women-led SSE enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic by enhancing their resilience, particularly in marginalized regions;

• PAJESS, which fostered youth entrepreneurship and built local SSE coordination platforms to promote territorial economic development;

• JEUN’ESS, a flagship EU-funded project launched in 2021, focused on establishing integrated SSE ecosystems with a youth-centered approach.

These initiatives have laid a comprehensive foundation for embedding SSE within Tunisia’s socio-economic development framework.

JEUN’ESS: A Model for Youth-Led, Inclusive Local Development

A central focus of the Forum was the success of the JEUN’ESS project, which has supported the creation and growth of more than 170 SSE entities across seven governorates. The project has generated over 3,600 decent jobs, of which 56% are held by women and 8% by persons with disabilities.

JEUN’ESS positions SSE as a viable route to sustainable local development by encouraging collective entrepreneurship and strengthening value chains in sectors such as cultural heritage, local agriculture, ecotourism, and the circular economy. The initiative also builds trust and collaboration between youth, public institutions, private enterprises, and financial actors—paving the way for more inclusive economic governance.

High-Level Endorsements and Strategic Vision

Opening the Forum, Coffi Agossou, Deputy Regional Director for ILO Africa, praised Tunisia’s achievements:

“Tunisia’s experience shows that SSE is not marginal — it’s a real path to inclusive development, youth empowerment, gender equality, and regional resilience.”

The Forum also welcomed Simel Esim, Head of the ILO’s Cooperative, Social and Solidarity Economy Unit (COOP/SSE) and Chair of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE), who emphasized Tunisia’s regional leadership:

“Tunisia is emerging as a regional leader in advancing the social and solidarity economy. Its multilevel approach—spanning policy, practice, and partnerships—is closely aligned with the African Union’s Ten-Year Strategy on the SSE.”

Esim stressed the next priorities: translating legal frameworks into actionable tools, enhancing statistical visibility for SSE entities, and bolstering their resilience.

Forum Highlights: Toward a Scalable, Institutional SSE Agenda

The Forum served as a national platform for both high-level vision and technical exchange. Key thematic sessions explored:

• The role of SSE in driving inclusive demographic, ecological, and digital transitions;

• Mechanisms for expanding access to finance tailored to the needs of SSE entities;

• Strategies to foster youth leadership and social innovation;

• Strengthening evidence-based policymaking for SSE scalability;

• Building durable public-private partnerships for SSE governance.

Participants also called for a transition from pilot initiatives to institutionalized, policy-led approaches to SSE implementation.

Strategic Roadmap: Building Blocks for the Future

The Forum outlined a strategic agenda for Tunisia’s SSE sector, centered around five key priorities:

1. Operationalizing the SSE Law By developing administrative procedures, public procurement systems, and financing mechanisms that formally recognize and support SSE entities.

2. Expanding Inclusive Finance Broadening access to adapted financial instruments and investment tools to improve long-term sustainability of SSE ventures.

3. Promoting Evidence-Based Policymaking Documenting good practices, impact metrics, and case studies for the replication and scaling of successful models.

4. Placing Decent Work at the Core Ensuring SSE entities uphold labor standards, including occupational safety, elimination of child labor, and formalization of work.

5. Institutionalizing Multi-Stakeholder Governance Strengthening coordination across government bodies, social partners, civil society, and development organizations.

ILO’s Continued Commitment to Social Justice and Economic Democracy

The ILO reaffirmed its commitment to accompanying Tunisia in building an inclusive economic model based on social justice, democratic ownership, and sustainability. This includes fostering South-South cooperation, enhancing technical capacity at local and national levels, and aligning Tunisia’s SSE strategy with continental and global policy frameworks.

As Tunisia moves forward, the SSE is no longer a peripheral experiment—it is becoming a central pillar of a new social contract that links economic opportunity with human dignity.