Developing a strong national energy sector takes a combination of institutional and private-sector knowhow and expertise. To support the Government of Tunisia in its efforts to improve the performance and financial viability of the energy sector, and more specifically the renewable energy sector, the TERI Umbrella provides technical assistance through two distinct components: (i) determining the methodology and framework for billing excess energy from self-producers to the public utility grid for energy self-generation schemes; and (ii) identifying and addressing the barriers to financing renewable energy projects, with a strong focus on local banks under the authorization scheme. These two activities work towards setting the base for a performing and accessible renewable energy sector in Tunisia, which constitutes one of the country’s key future growth-enabling industries.
Currently, the energy consumption of Tunisia’s transportation sector is estimated at around 32% of the total national energy consumption. To achieve its ambitious renewable energy and sustainability targets, Tunisia must engage in rigorous decarbonization. The Government of Tunisia is willing to investigate the implementation of pilot programs for urban development, notably in the transport sector, to address the sustainable development needs of its cities. To support the government in this process, technical assistance has been set up by the World Bank to help develop a high-level e-bus deployment strategy as well as to conduct energy audits for two selected ports.
The difficulty to access vaccines in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the importance of investing in local vaccine production capacity. Responding to this challenge, TERI has swiftly mobilized resources to provide technical assistance to the Government of Tunisia for the elaboration of a national vaccine production strategy. The objective of this technical assistance is to support the elaboration of a national strategy and roadmap for Tunisia to produce priority vaccines, become self-sufficient, and export excess vaccines. This assistance further supports the government’s efforts in securing investments for vaccine production, which aligns with the country’s recent designation by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the six mRNA technology transfer hubs.
In a context where the Government of Tunisia is committed to alleviating multidimensional vulnerability and poverty through social protection systems and services, the TERI Umbrella Program is delivering technical assistance to strengthen national social safety nets for the poorest and most vulnerable populations in Tunisia. In close collaboration with UNDP, the World Bank is currently conducting the inception phase of a three-year project which intends to improve access to both legal aid mechanisms as well as integrated and people-centered social protection delivery systems to strengthen the resilience of most vulnerable populations. The project will provide support to the Amen national social assistance program, which serves over a million individuals in Tunisia.
