Tunisia - A project aimed at creating employment opportunities in the agri-food sector, worth $7,000,000 (about TND 22 million), was approved by the Steering Committee of the Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Youth and Employment in Tunisia (MPTF), at its second annual meeting held on November 18 in Tunis.

The 36-month project is the first to be financed via the MPTF. It proposes to support young entrepreneurs in launching agricultural projects, according to a Ministry of Economy and Planning press release.

Entitled "Responsible Agribusiness Investment for Youth Employment, Food Systems Transformation and Sustainable Development,” the project will be implemented jointly by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the International Labor Organisation (ILO).

The project intends to provide financial and technical support and encourage the creation of at least 1,200 direct and indirect jobs.

“It focuses on the inclusion of women, people with disabilities and the transition of informal workers to the formal economy."

Representatives of the government, the United Nations in Tunisia and the Netherlands Embassy to Tunisia attended the meeting.

Committee members reiterated the importance and need for a funding and coordination mechanism to support government job creation initiatives.

The fund represent a joint and coordinated response to provide targeted, concrete solutions to help create decent, sustainable jobs.

The Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Youth and Employment in Tunisia was jointly launched by the Tunisian government and the United Nations on November 28, 2023.

It aims at supporting the governmen's efforts to provide more opportunities for the youth in terms of decent-job creation and financial autonomisation.

In practice, it will set up a funding and coordination mechanism that will contribute to giving specific answers to the country’s needs in meeting the challenge of unemployment among youth, women, and the most vulnerable categories of the population.

The Netherlands is the first donor to contribute to this fund with $10,525 million.

Aligned with Tunisia's Vision 2035, this initiative is part of the acceleration of the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, and will contribute to the implementation of the cooperation agreement signed between the Tunisian Government and the United Nations in December 2020 in support of Tunisia's development efforts.

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