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Good practice Imported

Programme de Mise à Niveau (PMN) — Tunisia's Three-Decade Industrial Upgrading Scheme

Tunisia · Tunis · See the Tunisia profile · See the Tunis profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 63% 62/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Since 1995, Tunisia's Mise à Niveau programme has co-financed tech and management upgrades for industrial firms — ~7,000 applications (86% SMEs) and over 14 billion dinars in approved investment — though independent assessments find its productivity effects mixed.

~7,000
Upgrade applications filed
86%
Applications from SMEs
14+ billion Tunisian dinars
Approved investment financed
300+
Regional advisory committees
~3,000
Enterprises enrolled by 2005 (AFD comparative study) (by 2005)
180+ million Tunisian dinars
July 2026 investment tranche approved (July 2026)
22.6 million Tunisian dinars
July 2026 subsidies approved (July 2026)
Programme de Mise à Niveau (PMN) — Tunisia's Three-Decade Industrial Upgrading Scheme

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Bureau de Mise à Niveau / Agence de Promotion de l'Industrie et de l'Innovation (APII), Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy
Period
1995–2026 (ongoing)
Keywords
manufacturing, industrial policy, SME upgrading, technology diffusion, competitiveness

Context

Launched in 1995/96 by Tunisia's Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy through the Bureau de Mise à Niveau and the Agence de Promotion de l'Industrie et de l'Innovation (APII), the Programme de Mise à Niveau (PMN) co-finances diagnostic audits, technology investment and management modernisation for industrial firms adapting to trade liberalisation.

Objectives

The programme aims to help industrial firms, mostly SMEs, upgrade their technology and management practices to remain competitive as Tunisia opened to trade.

Activities

Delivery runs through more than 300 regional advisory committees; roughly 7,000 upgrade applications have been filed, 86% of them from SMEs, backing more than 14 billion Tunisian dinars in approved investment. The programme marked its 30th anniversary in 2025 and approved a further tranche of over 180 million dinars in investment (22.6 million dinars in subsidies) across agro-food, electrical, mechanical and textile/clothing sectors in July 2026.

Results

The French development agency AFD's 2005 comparative study of Tunisia, Morocco and Senegal's upgrading programmes found Tunisia's the most mature, with about 3,000 enterprises enrolled by then, while cautioning the three countries' programmes were at too different stages for rigorous comparison.

Conclusions

Independent Tunisian competitiveness research has since described PMN's measured effects on productivity and quality-employment creation as mixed, pointing to targeting and implementation gaps even as participation and investment volumes kept growing - a genuine cautionary note alongside its longevity and reach.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Very high (> €5M) — Over 14 billion Tunisian dinars in approved investment across ~7,000 applications since 1995/96; a single July 2026 tranche alone approved 180+ million dinars in investment including 22.6 million dinars in subsidies.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Continuously operating since 1995/96; marked its 30th anniversary in 2025 and approved new investment tranches as recently as July 2026.
Staffing & skills
Bureau de Mise à Niveau and APII staff, 300+ regional advisory committees, Participating banks financing approved projects

Conditions for success

  • A co-financing structure combining state subsidy with bank financing and firm contribution
  • A dense regional advisory-committee network reaching firms across sectors and regions
  • Three decades of sustained political and budgetary commitment

Common failure modes

  • Independent Tunisian competitiveness research finds PMN's productivity and quality-employment effects 'mixed' despite large participation and investment volumes, pointing to targeting and implementation gaps

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

Replication kit

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Data sources

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