Tunisia Startup Act — Startup Label
Ministry of Communication Technologies (Startup Tunisia) · Startup label & incentives
VariesCorporate tax exemption + state-paid social security contributions for label duration, 1-year founder 'bourse' (up to 3 founders), startup leave, patent fees covered; amounts not stated
Tunisia's Startup Act (Law 2018-20) gives labelled startups corporate tax exemption, state coverage of employer and employee social contributions, a one-year founder stipend, a startup leave for salaried founders and patent filing support.
Key terms
- Company must be under 8 years old; label valid up to 8 years from incorporation
- More than 2/3 of capital held by individuals, VC/seed funds or foreign startups
- Headcount, total assets and revenue below caps set by decree; innovative (esp. technological) model with high growth potential
- Startup bourse: 1 year, max 3 full-time founder-shareholders; startup leave: 1 year renewable once
- Individuals can get a 6-month pre-label before incorporating
- Label sessions are periodic (e.g. October 2025 session)
Eligibility
- Where
- Tunisia
- Stages
- idea, pre-seed, seed, series-a
- Max company age
- 8 years
- Needs VC/accelerator backing
- No
- Needs partner referral code
- No
- Must be incorporated
- Yes
- AI focus required
- No
- Students / researchers
- Not eligible
- Nonprofits
- Not eligible
Also required
- Tunisian commercial company
- Pre-label available to individuals before incorporation
How to apply
Register on the Startup Act portal, apply for the label (or pre-label) during an open session, then request bourse/leave/CNSS benefits digitally.
- Benefit
- mixed
- Equity-free
- Yes
- Decision time
- —
- Credit validity
- Up to 8 years from incorporation
- Deadline
- Periodic label sessions
- Status
- Paused — next round TBA
Verified 2026-10-23 · source