Month: February 2021

Tunisia to be among first COVAX recipients – WHO

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Tunisia will benefit from a first wave of coronavirus vaccines from the COVAX scheme, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Monday. Tunisia is due to receive 93,600 doses, said Rick Brennan, emergency director for the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean region. Two doses of the vaccine are recommended per person. The WHO set up COVAX along with the GAVI vaccine alliance to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccinations globally. However, there was a “very significant gap” between the planned vaccine rollout in wealthy countries and those that are lower-income or…

EBRD, Enda Tamweel and Attijari Bank supporting microfinance in Tunisia

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Loan of up to TND 20 million to microfinance institution Enda Tamweel Local micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to benefit EBRD risk-sharing framework with Attijari Bank of Tunisia The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is strengthening access to finance for Tunisian micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The Bank is providing Attijari Bank of Tunisia with an unfunded risk-sharing guarantee of 50 per cent on a loan to Enda Tamweel, the leading microfinance institution in the country. Under the EBRD’s Risk Sharing Framework (RSF), Attijari Bank of Tunisia is extending a loan of up…

Tunisia to issue debt and push reforms this year, says Finance Minister

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Tunisia will issue debt worth up to US$3bn this year and aims to roll over some existing credit arrangements while setting in train wider economic reforms, Finance Minister Ali Kooli told Reuters in an interview. With a deficit estimated at 11.5% of gross domestic product last year and public debt at 90% of GDP, Tunisia plans reforms to cut its high public wage bill and subsidies and restructure poorly performing state-owned companies, Kooli said. The Covid-19 pandemic, political infighting and ongoing protests over inequality have added to the pressure on…