The discussion focused on the WSIS Action Line C7 on eBusiness and used Tunisia as a case study to reflect on 20 years of implementation by the co-facilitating agencies: ITC, UPU and UNCTAD. Ms. Scarlett Fondeur introduced the session as an effort to highlight the achievements of a beneficiary country and invited Mr. Khabbab Hadhri of Tunisia’s Ministry of Trade and Export Development to explain how Tunisia had linked policy and practical measures to build inclusive and sustainable e-commerce and digital trade .
Mr. Hadhri presented Tunisia’s digital transformation as a long-term national commitment rooted in trust, innovation and international cooperation, beginning around the time Tunisia hosted the WSIS and supported by early legal reforms . He said Tunisia adopted a pioneering 2000 law on electronic exchange and e-commerce, recognising electronic documents and signatures, and created TuneTrust as the national certification authority to underpin secure digital transactions . He added that Tunisia later reinforced this framework with personal data protection legislation and alignment with international privacy standards .
He described several practical initiatives that widened access to digital trade, especially for small businesses. A partnership with ITC and the World Bank on the Virtual Marketplace project helped shift export policy from large shipments towards small parcels and cross-border e-commerce, while changing entrepreneurs’ perceptions of global market access . Hadhri also said electronic payments expanded rapidly, growing by more than 200 per cent between 2015 and 2020 and by over 300 per cent between 2020 and 2025, confirming digital trade as a driver of resilience and inclusive growth . To illustrate inclusion, he highlighted the Easy Export Initiative launched in 2019 with UPU and CEPEX, which used post offices as one-stop export points and supported 168 companies in sending 34,000 shipments to 84 countries by mid-2021 . He further noted a simplified e-commerce export regime introduced in 2021, along with stronger customs-post coordination, which reduced administrative burdens and helped more MSMEs, artisans and rural entrepreneurs participate in global trade .
Looking ahead, Hadhri said Tunisia had undertaken an UNCTAD-supported eTrade readiness assessment that produced 63 recommendations, with 78 per cent of the 2022-2023 action plan completed or near completion . He also outlined reforms to digital payments and identity, including new rules for payment facilitators, the Tunipay mobile payment label, the e-Hawiyah mobile ID system, and an auto-entrepreneur platform to formalise self-employed workers and micro-entrepreneurs . Tunisia is now pursuing a broader Digital Transformation Programme 2030, regional MENA cooperation, regulatory alignment with the AfCFTA digital trade protocol, and its first national e-commerce strategy for 2027-2031, prepared with UNCTAD and SECO support through a participatory consultation process .
Other speakers framed Tunisia as a model of sustained cooperation and effective governance. Ms. Fondeur said successful reform required political will and a national focal point with a clear overarching vision . James Howe argued that Tunisia showed the value of long-term partnerships with capable national counterparts and noted that Tunisian expertise was now being extended to support work elsewhere in Africa, including emerging efforts on selling services online across borders . Faicel Belaid of UNCTAD said the main constraints on e-business are often governance and institutional coordination rather than ICT infrastructure alone, and he identified governance, implementation support and closing enabling-environment gaps as key priorities for future work . A SECO representative reaffirmed Tunisia as a priority country, stressed the importance of a clear vision, reliable digital conditions and public-private coordination, and pointed to inclusivity in rural areas as a continuing concern . The session concluded with plans to share the presentation and session outcomes online, underscoring Tunisia’s experience as a significant example of how coordinated reforms and partnerships can advance inclusive digital trade .
- The session’s main aim was to reflect on 20 years of WSIS Action Line C7 on eBusiness by using Tunisia as a concrete case study of how international support and national policy can be combined to build inclusive digital trade. Ms. Scarlett Fondeur framed the discussion this way at the start, highlighting Tunisia as a beneficiary of the work of ITC, UPU and UNCTAD and as an example of connecting practical and policy measures for inclusive, sustainable e-commerce development. - Tunisia’s digital transformation was presented as having been built first on trust, through early legal and institutional foundations for e-commerce. Mr. Khabbab Hadhri emphasised Tunisia’s 2000 law on electronic exchange and electronic commerce, the creation of TuneTrust as a national certification authority, later personal data protection reforms, and alignment with international privacy standards as the basis for business confidence and trusted digital transactions. - A major discussion point was how Tunisia expanded e-commerce opportunities for MSMEs by simplifying exports and using the postal network as a practical gateway to global markets. Mr. Hadhri described the 2015 Virtual Marketplace project as changing policymakers’ and entrepreneurs’ mindsets about exporting, then highlighted the 2019 Easy Export Initiative with UPU and CEPEX, which turned post offices into one-stop export support points, reduced costs, increased shipments, and helped rural and small-scale entrepreneurs access cross-border trade.
- The speakers stressed that digital transformation is not just about technology but about inclusion, institutional coordination and reducing barriers for ordinary people, especially women, youth and rural entrepreneurs. Mr. Hadhri illustrated this through the example of a woman artisan in Kairouan who can now export much more easily, and by stressing that digital trade must reach people where they are. Later speakers reinforced that progress depends not only on infrastructure but also on effective governance, coordination and public-private dialogue.
- Another major theme was Tunisia’s next phase: strengthening the wider digital trade ecosystem and moving towards a more strategic, coordinated future. Mr. Hadhri reviewed advances in digital payments, fintech regulation, mobile ID, formalisation tools for micro-entrepreneurs, the Digital Transformation Programme 2030, regional MENA and AfCFTA-related work, and the preparation of Tunisia’s first national e-commerce strategy for 2027-2031. UNCTAD, ITC and partners then positioned Tunisia as a model for long-term cooperation and future replication, while also pointing to implementation tools such as the E-Trade Reform Tracker.
- The overall purpose of the discussion was to showcase Tunisia’s experience as a practical example of WSIS Action Line C7 on eBusiness in action, to demonstrate what long-term national commitment plus international partnership can achieve, and to point participants towards future opportunities, tools and initiatives in e-commerce and digital economy development for Tunisia and other countries.
- The overall tone was positive, appreciative and forward-looking throughout. It began as a formal and welcoming session introduction, moved into a detailed and proud presentation of Tunisia’s achievements, and then became reflective and strategic as the agencies discussed lessons learned, governance challenges and future priorities. The closing remained highly complimentary and optimistic about Tunisia’s continued progress.
Ms. Scarlett Fondeur opened the session by noting the late start, the fact that it was the first session of the first day and some participants were still arriving, and by welcoming both in-person and online participants . She explained that, because the session was short and situated in the context of 20 years of WSIS action lines, the organisers had chosen a focused case-study format centred on Tunisia rather than a broader discussion, since Tunisia had benefited from the work of all three co-facilitating agencies - ITC, UPU and UNCTAD .
Mr. Khabbab Hadhri then presented Tunisia’s experience as a long-term process of digital transformation shaped by national commitment and international cooperation . He said Tunisia became the first Arab and African country to host WSIS, and described that moment as the beginning of a sustained national commitment to an inclusive digital economy based on trust, innovation and partnership .
A central part of Hadhri’s presentation was Tunisia’s early legal framework for e-commerce. He said the key starting point was Law 83-2000 on electronic exchange and electronic commerce, which recognised electronic documents and electronic signatures and created the legal basis for online business . He added that the same law created TuneTrust, Tunisia’s national certification authority and public key infrastructure, which he described as the backbone of digital trust “for more than 25 years” because it provides digital certificates and secure electronic signatures for citizens, businesses and public institutions . He also said Tunisia later reinforced this framework through a personal data protection law in 2004 and accession in 2017 to the Council of Europe’s Convention 108 .
Hadhri argued that legal reform had to be matched by institutions and partnerships. He pointed to a major turning point in 2015, when Tunisia worked with ITC and the World Bank on the Virtual Marketplace project . According to him, this helped shift the country’s understanding of exporting from a model centred on large firms and container shipments to one in which small artisans, young entrepreneurs and family businesses could also reach international markets through online platforms and parcel-based trade .
He then described the COVID-19 period as another turning point. He said the pandemic created difficulties but also accelerated digital transformation as consumers and firms changed behaviour . As evidence, he stated that the value of electronic payments rose by more than 200 per cent between 2015 and 2020 and by over 300 per cent between 2020 and 2025 . He presented this as a sign that digital trade had become an important driver of resilience, competitiveness and inclusion .
Inclusion was a recurring theme in his remarks. Hadhri said Tunisia’s main lesson over 20 years was that digital transformation is about people as much as technology, including entrepreneurs, young people, women and those living outside major urban centres . He illustrated this with the example of a woman artisan in Kairouan who had previously struggled to export because of paperwork, customs procedures and logistics, but who can now use her local post office to send products abroad more easily . He linked this example to places such as Kairouan, Sidi Bouzid and Tataouine, presenting digital transformation as something increasingly visible in daily economic life beyond Tunis .
This led into his description of the Easy Export Initiative, launched in 2019 in partnership with the Universal Postal Union and the export promotion centre . He said the initiative aimed to simplify export procedures for agricultural, agri-food and craft products and to use the postal network as a one-stop shop, beginning with a pilot in Kairouan . Hadhri reported that between January 2019 and June 2021 the initiative supported 168 companies and enabled 34,000 postal shipments to 84 countries, alongside a 15 per cent reduction in postal shipment fees for eligible MSMEs under the partnership arrangement . He added that the model was later expanded to several one-stop shops across the country and that postal staff were trained to advise exporters on documentation, customs procedures and export rules .
Hadhri also highlighted customs reform. He said that in 2021 Tunisia introduced a simplified export regime for e-commerce shipments that allowed the use of consolidated declarations rather than multiple monthly declarations, reducing the administrative burden on MSMEs . He added that customs and the postal operator also improved coordination to speed up clearance and tracking for small parcels . According to him, these measures led to more MSMEs exploring export markets, more artisans selling internationally and more rural entrepreneurs participating in the digital economy .
Turning to ecosystem planning, Hadhri said Tunisia worked with UNCTAD in 2021 on an eTrade Readiness Assessment that provided a clearer picture of strengths and weaknesses in the digital economy and cross-border e-commerce . He said the assessment produced 63 recommendations in an eTrade action matrix and reported that 78 per cent of the activities in the 2022-2023 action plan had been completed or were in the final stage of implementation . He also referred to “Hub EcomConnect” with ITC as part of ongoing work on training, certification and skills development .
He then discussed payments and digital identity as further enabling elements. Hadhri said Tunisia had modernised its payments ecosystem through several digital solutions and opened the market to new fintech models, including payment facilitators . He added that in 2024 the Central Bank issued new guidelines for payment facilitators to structure the sector, improve risk management and expand access for small merchants and artisans . He also mentioned the launch of Tunipay, a unified national mobile payment label intended to simplify the payment landscape and reduce reliance on cash .
On digital identity, Hadhri said Tunisia deployed the mobile ID system e-Hawiyah in 2022, linking the national identity card to a mobile phone number and enabling secure online authentication . He added that it also supports legally recognised electronic signatures and access to digital public services . He said the system was being integrated into business registry and investment platforms, and he described the auto-entrepreneur platform as a digital mechanism through which self-employed workers and micro-entrepreneurs can register online using mobile ID, obtain legal status, simplify taxation and move from the informal to the formal economy .
Looking ahead, Hadhri referred to Tunisia’s Digital Transformation Programme 2030, which he said includes more than 130 projects across administration, the economy, infrastructure and cybersecurity . He also referred to a regional initiative with German cooperation and ITC, funded by the European Union and BMZ, focused on digital trade and e-commerce in the MENA region over four years . In addition, he said Tunisia was working with ITC to assess its digital trade regulatory readiness for implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area digital trade protocol .
He identified another major next step as Tunisia’s first national e-commerce strategy for 2027-2031, being developed with UNCTAD and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) . He described it as a national commitment intended to bring together multiple reform efforts into one coherent vision for the next five years . He added that Tunisia had recently held a three-day national consultation with more than 100 participants to validate priorities and build national ownership . He also said Tunisia had requested use of UNCTAD’s eTrade Reform Tracker and was awaiting political approval in order to strengthen coordination, monitoring and evaluation .
Near the end of his intervention, Hadhri summarised Tunisia’s experience around four pillars supporting MSMEs in digital transformation: the legal and trust framework, simplified customs and export procedures, modernised digital payments, and digital identity through mobile ID . He argued that these pillars support wider development goals including poverty reduction, gender equality and entrepreneurial opportunity . He also warned that developing countries still need continued digital cooperation, capacity building and innovative financing . He closed with formal thanks to international partners, saying they had helped Tunisia assess readiness, build institutions, connect small firms to global markets and strengthen skills and legal frameworks .
After the keynote, Fondeur responded by thanking Tunisia and saying the co-facilitating agencies had found in it an excellent partner . She stressed that success depended on political will at national level and on having a focal point with a clear overall vision capable of seeing how the many parts of an e-commerce agenda fit together .
Only a short fragment of Ms. Radka Sibille’s intervention is preserved in the transcript. In that fragment, she pointed to the African Free Trade Agreement as a vehicle for further expanding trade between African countries .
Mr. James Howe of ITC emphasised the value of Tunisia’s 20-year perspective, arguing that it showed what long-term cooperation with a willing and capable national partner could achieve . He said expertise developed in Tunisia was now helping support work in other parts of Africa, which he presented as a sign of sustainability . He also pointed to a newer strand of cooperation focused on how to sell services online across borders, extending the agenda beyond goods and parcel-based trade .
Mr. Faicel Belaid of UNCTAD then set out three main priorities for what comes next . First, he argued that governance and institutional coordination are often the main constraints in advancing e-business, drawing on UNCTAD’s 41 eTrade Readiness Assessments, including, as he noted, most recently Indonesia, the first G20 economy . He said coordination mechanisms often exist on paper but do not function in practice, and that UNCTAD’s 2025 review across 23 developing countries showed reforms move forward when digital trade is treated as a real national priority and stakeholders are genuinely engaged . Second, he stressed implementation support, saying institutions matter more than plans alone and presenting the E-Trade Reform Tracker as a tool national committees can use to coordinate reforms and maintain momentum . He noted that the tool was being deployed in Tunisia to support the committee that will oversee the forthcoming strategy and that it is made available to partner countries free of charge . Third, he argued for closing enabling-environment gaps, especially incomplete legal and regulatory frameworks that weaken trust in digital transactions and limited access to cross-border digital payments . He concluded by saying these priorities would carry the e-business action line into the WSIS+20 period and that UNCTAD would remain engaged with partners, including in Tunisia alongside ITC and UPU .
The SECO representative, Florence, said Tunisia is a priority country for SECO and that since 2021 it has supported the e-commerce programme . She said the forthcoming national e-commerce strategy was likely to be important for establishing the framework for e-commerce in Tunisia and highlighted the need for a clear vision, a reliable digital environment, strong inter-institutional coordination and public-private dialogue . She also noted that reaching global markets remains difficult for some rural communities, including in areas such as Tataouine, and welcomed the focus on inclusion .
The session ended without further questions from the floor, largely because of time constraints, which Fondeur acknowledged several times . In closing, she said Hadhri’s slides would be shared on the session webpage, that a summary of the session would be uploaded before the end of the week, and that participants could consult the eTrade for all webpage for information on support, country experiences and related initiatives . She ended by thanking participants and especially Hadhri, praising the way he had brought together the different elements of Tunisia’s experience .
Overall, speakers presented Tunisia as an example of long-term implementation of WSIS Action Line C7 on eBusiness, built around early legal trust measures, practical reforms in customs and logistics, use of the postal network, progress in payments and digital identity, and sustained coordination with international partners . The discussion was largely complementary rather than argumentative. Hadhri focused on Tunisia’s reform path and concrete measures, while other speakers, especially Belaid and Fondeur, placed stronger emphasis on political will, governance and implementation capacity as the conditions that allow such reforms to endure . The practical closing message was that Tunisia’s next phase will depend on carrying this work forward through the 2027-2031 national e-commerce strategy, stronger implementation tools, continued cooperation and attention to inclusion, particularly in rural areas .
The knowledge base supports the institutional point that ITC and UPU are among the WSIS Action Line co-facilitators and that UNCTAD is a core WSIS Forum co-organiser [S94]. This lends credibility to the explanation for selecting Tunisia as a case study involving these agencies.
The knowledge base confirms that WSIS was held in two phases, in Geneva in 2003 and Tunis in 2005 [S92]. Since Tunis hosted the second phase, the report’s statement that Tunisia hosted WSIS is corroborated; this also underpins the reference to Tunisia’s special place in WSIS history [S34].
The knowledge base provides useful background that the WSIS framework established action lines and other mechanisms that have continued to shape digital cooperation over the past two decades, and that the WSIS+20 review is explicitly assessing these outcomes [S92]. It also notes reporting by Action Line facilitators on progress over 20 years [S93].
The knowledge base confirms that Tunisia is among the African countries that have ratified Convention 108 and notes that Tunisia also signed the 2018 protocol amending the convention [S102]. This supports the report’s statement about Tunisia’s participation in the Convention 108 framework, while adding useful detail on later modernisation steps [S102].
While the knowledge base does not directly mention the Virtual Marketplace project, it does confirm that 2015 was a key period of WSIS and digital trade activity involving relevant institutions, including ITC as a WSIS Action Line co-facilitator and UNCTAD as a WSIS Forum co-organiser [S94]. It also provides broader context on digitalisation of trade, including the shift towards parcel-based, digitally enabled cross-border commerce [S19].
The knowledge base strongly supports this broader trade logic: digitalisation enables even traditional goods trade through online ordering, payment and parcel tracking, and parcel logistics are identified as central to e-commerce [S19]. It also highlights the importance of inclusive legal and digital ecosystems that support SMEs and smaller businesses in e-commerce [S33].
The knowledge base confirms that the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated e-commerce adoption by roughly five years and expanded online commerce to new firms, customers and product types [S19]. This supports the report’s statement that the pandemic acted as an accelerator of digital transformation.
The knowledge base provides supporting context that the pandemic demonstrated both the resilience value of e-commerce and the importance of enablers such as connectivity, skills and postal infrastructure [S19]. It also stresses that inclusive legal and policy frameworks are necessary to ensure that digital trade benefits a broad range of actors, including SMEs and women-led enterprises [S33].
Tunisia’s National Digital Strategy 2021-2025 aligns with this framing by placing strong emphasis not only on infrastructure and governance but also on social inclusion, financial inclusion, digital literacy, and development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem [S32]. This adds policy-level support for the people-centred interpretation presented in the report.
This appears chronologically imprecise. The report links TuneTrust to Law 83-2000, meaning its legal basis dates from 2000; from a 2025 vantage point that would be about 25 years, not clearly ‘more than 25 years’. The knowledge base independently situates Tunisia’s major digital policy frameworks in the 2000s and 2020s rather than suggesting a pre-2000 duration [S32] and [S100].
Early legal trust framework enabled e-commerce growth (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri)
Arg. 1Mr. Hadhri argues that Tunisia’s digital trade development started with building trust through law and institutions. His point is that e-commerce could not expand unless electronic transactions, signatures and data protection were legally recognised and supported by trusted national systems.
He said Tunisia understood early that digital transformation could not happen without trust and therefore adopted Law 83-2000 on electronic exchange and electronic commerce, which recognised electronic documents and electronic signatures and created the legal basis for doing business online . He added that the same law created TuneTrust as the national certification authority, which has provided secure digital certificates and electronic signatures for over 25 years, while later reforms included a personal data protection law in 2004 and accession to Convention 108 in 2017 to align privacy protections with international standards .
on: An enabling legal and trust framework is fundamental to the growth of e-commerce and digital trade.
International partnerships helped Tunisia connect policy, logistics and market access reforms (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri)
Arg. 2Mr. Hadhri presents Tunisia’s progress as the result of sustained cooperation with international organisations and partners, not isolated national reform. He argues these partnerships helped Tunisia link regulatory reform, export logistics, institutional coordination and market access into a coherent digital trade agenda.
He explicitly said Tunisia’s journey had always been based on cooperation with international organisations, development partners and the private sector, and identified the 2015 Virtual Marketplace project with ITC and the World Bank as a major turning point . He also cited later partnerships with UPU through Easy Export, with UNCTAD through the eTrade readiness assessment and action plan, and with ITC, German cooperation, the EU and BMZ on regional digital trade work, showing how partnerships supported reforms across customs, postal services, skills and strategy development , , .
on: International cooperation and partnerships remain essential both for Tunisia and for broader replication in other countries.
Digital trade should be judged by whether it expands opportunities for people, especially youth, women and rural entrepreneurs (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri)
Arg. 3Mr. Hadhri argues that digital transformation is fundamentally about people rather than technology alone. In his view, success should be measured by whether digital trade opens business opportunities for women, young people and those outside major urban centres.
He said Tunisia’s greatest lesson over 20 years is that digital transformation is not only about technology but about giving entrepreneurs opportunities, helping young people create businesses, empowering women and removing geography as a barrier to international trade . He reinforced this by saying digital transformation must be inclusive, must reach people where they are and must reduce barriers instead of creating new ones, with rural entrepreneurs and artisans entering global markets as evidence of that vision .
on: Inclusion of MSMEs, women and rural entrepreneurs is a core test of whether digital trade reforms are succeeding.
Easy Export and the postal network turned local post offices into gateways to global markets for small producers (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri)
Arg. 4Mr. Hadhri argues that Tunisia made inclusion practical by redesigning export processes around the postal network. His point is that using post offices as one-stop export gateways enabled small producers and rural businesses to participate in cross-border e-commerce at lower cost and with less complexity.
He illustrated this with the example of a woman artisan in Kairouan who had previously faced complex paperwork, customs procedures and difficult logistics, but who can now use her local post office to ship products to destinations such as France, Germany and Canada . He explained that the 2019 Easy Export initiative, launched with UPU and export promotion partners, created one-stop shops through the postal network; between January 2019 and June 2021 it supported 168 companies, enabled 34,000 postal shipments to 84 countries and reduced shipment fees by 15% for eligible MSMEs, while postal staff were trained as export advisers .
on: Inclusion of MSMEs, women and rural entrepreneurs is a core test of whether digital trade reforms are succeeding.
Simplified customs procedures and consolidated declarations reduced administrative burdens for e-commerce exporters (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri)
Arg. 5Mr. Hadhri argues that practical trade facilitation reforms are essential for making cross-border e-commerce workable for smaller firms. He highlights customs simplification as a key step in reducing time, cost and administrative barriers for exporters.
He said that in 2021 Tunisia implemented a simplified export regime for e-commerce shipments so that exporters could use a consolidated declaration system instead of multiple monthly declarations . He added that this significantly reduced administrative burdens, made cross-border trade faster and cheaper, and was paired with stronger coordination between customs and the postal operator to improve parcel clearance and tracking .
on: Practical ecosystem measures such as customs simplification, postal logistics, payments and digital identity are necessary to make e-commerce workable for smaller firms.
Digital payments, mobile ID and entrepreneur registration platforms are key enablers of formalisation and trusted online trade (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri)
Arg. 6Mr. Hadhri argues that e-commerce growth depends on trusted digital payment and identity systems, alongside tools that make formalisation easier. He presents these as core building blocks that help small merchants transact securely and move from the informal to the formal economy.
He noted that electronic payment values rose by more than 200% between 2015 and 2020 and by over 300% between 2020 and 2025, which he used to show the increasing centrality of digital payments to resilience and growth . He also described reforms including new fintech rules for payment facilitators in 2024, the launch of the Tunipay mobile payment label, the 2022 mobile ID system e-Hawiyah, and the auto-entrepreneur platform that uses mobile ID to let self-employed workers register online, gain legal status and simplify taxation .
on: Practical ecosystem measures such as customs simplification, postal logistics, payments and digital identity are necessary to make e-commerce workable for smaller firms.
Tunisia’s e-trade readiness assessment and action plan provided a roadmap and have already produced strong implementation progress (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri)
Arg. 7Mr. Hadhri argues that Tunisia benefited from a structured diagnostic and implementation framework rather than ad hoc reform. He says the eTrade readiness assessment identified priorities clearly and translated them into an action matrix that has already delivered substantial progress.
He said that in 2021 Tunisia, with UNCTAD support, carried out an eTrade readiness assessment that gave the country a clear picture of its strengths and weaknesses and helped prepare a national action plan with clear priorities . He specified that the assessment produced 63 recommendations in an eTrade action matrix and that 78% of the 2022-2023 action plan activities had either been completed or were in the final stage of implementation .
on: Tunisia’s next phase should focus on implementation, strategy coherence and tools that sustain reform over time.
Tunisia is preparing its first national e-commerce strategy to unify reforms into a coherent national vision (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri)
Arg. 8Mr. Hadhri argues that Tunisia’s next step is to consolidate many separate reforms and partnerships into a single national strategy. He presents the planned 2027-2031 strategy as a mechanism for coherence, shared priorities and national ownership.
He stated that Tunisia is developing its first national e-commerce strategy for 2027-2031 with support from UNCTAD and SECO of Switzerland, and said the strategy is intended to bring all reform projects and partnerships into one coherent vision for the next five years . He added that a national consultation with more than 100 participants over three days helped validate priorities and ensure the strategy would be participatory and nationally owned .
on: Tunisia’s next phase should focus on implementation, strategy coherence and tools that sustain reform over time.
Continued digital cooperation, capacity building and financing are still needed for developing countries (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri)
Arg. 9Mr. Hadhri argues that national reforms alone are not enough for developing countries to succeed in digital trade. He stresses the need for ongoing international cooperation, skills support and innovative financing so that digital transformation becomes broadly inclusive.
He said developing countries still need continued support and specifically called for digital cooperation, capacity building and innovative financing mechanisms to ensure that digital transformation benefits all countries . He also linked this appeal to appreciation for international partners who had helped Tunisia assess readiness, connect small businesses to global markets and strengthen institutions, skills and legal frameworks .
on: International cooperation and partnerships remain essential both for Tunisia and for broader replication in other countries.
Tunisia shows the value of long-term cooperation with a capable national partner (Mr. James Howe)
Arg. 1Mr. Howe argues that Tunisia is a particularly valuable example because it demonstrates what can be achieved through long-term collaboration with a committed and capable national institution. He suggests the country’s 20-year perspective shows that sustained partnership, discipline and shared focus produce stronger development outcomes than short-term interventions.
He said Tunisia is an unusually interesting example because it offers a 20-year perspective and shows what happens when partners work together over the long term with a willing and capable ministry . He also stressed the ministry’s discipline and expertise and suggested this experience offers lessons for whether similar sustained collaboration could be replicated elsewhere .
on: International cooperation and partnerships remain essential both for Tunisia and for broader replication in other countries.
Tunisian expertise is now being shared beyond the country, including in Africa, showing sustainable development impact (Mr. James Howe)
Arg. 2Mr. Howe argues that Tunisia’s progress is now generating broader regional benefits because its expertise can be transferred to other countries. He presents this as a sign of sustainability, where earlier investments begin to create new local capacities that support development beyond Tunisia itself.
He said ITC and its partners had found good people to work with in Tunisia and had begun to export that expertise from Tunisia to support work in other parts of Africa . He described this as a sign that past investments from partners such as SECO were beginning to bear fruit and that external support would not always be needed in the same way because new waves of expertise were emerging .
on: International cooperation and partnerships remain essential both for Tunisia and for broader replication in other countries.
New work is moving into higher-value areas such as cross-border online services trade (Mr. James Howe)
Arg. 3Mr. Howe argues that the next phase of support is moving beyond goods and basic online freelancing into higher-value digital trade segments. He sees cross-border online services as an important emerging area where Tunisia is helping to pioneer new training and support models.
He said that in new e-commerce projects, Tunisia is moving into a new wave focused on how to sell services online across borders rather than only traditional forms of e-commerce . He added that this work is exciting because it opens higher value-added areas and new expertise, and that Tunisian colleagues are helping pioneer what training and support in this field should look like .
Political will and a clear national focal point are essential to make reforms work (Ms. Scarlett Fondeur)
Arg. 1Ms. Fondeur argues that technical reform needs political commitment and effective national coordination to succeed. She emphasises that having a single focal point with an overview of the many moving parts of e-commerce reform is critical for translating support into results.
She said there has to be political will to put such reforms and practical measures in place, and that a key element on the national side is having one focal point with a clear overall vision of a very vast and complex e-commerce development project . She framed this observation in response to Tunisia’s experience, saying the co-facilitating agencies had found an excellent partner in the Tunisian government .
on: Tunisia’s progress in e-commerce has depended on long-term coordination, political will and strong national institutional leadership.
Tunisia’s experience can inform wider support to other countries seeking inclusive e-commerce development (Ms. Scarlett Fondeur)
Arg. 2Ms. Fondeur argues that Tunisia was presented not only as a national success story but as a learning case for broader WSIS and e-business implementation. Her framing suggests that other countries and stakeholders can draw lessons from how Tunisia connected policy, practical measures and partnerships for inclusive digital trade.
In introducing the session, she said the organisers chose to highlight Tunisia’s parcours and achievements as a beneficiary of the three agencies’ work so that participants could see how the country had connected the dots across practical measures and policy development to use e-commerce and digital trade in an inclusive and sustainable way for development . She later invited the agencies to discuss what was coming next not only for Tunisia but also what wider initiatives other countries and stakeholders might be interested in, reinforcing the replicability of the example .
on: International cooperation and partnerships remain essential both for Tunisia and for broader replication in other countries.
Regional trade frameworks in Africa can further support exports and imports between countries (Ms. Radka Sibille)
Arg. 1Ms. Sibille argues that regional integration mechanisms can strengthen cross-border e-commerce by making trade between African countries easier. Her point is that such frameworks can serve as practical vehicles for expanding exports and imports within the region.
She stated that in Africa there is already the African Free Trade Agreement and said it would serve as a great vehicle to further exports and imports between countries .
on: International cooperation and partnerships remain essential both for Tunisia and for broader replication in other countries.
MSMEs across countries face common barriers such as weak legal frameworks and limited cross-border digital payments (Mr. Faicel Belaid)
Arg. 1Mr. Belaid argues that the challenges facing MSMEs in e-commerce are not unique to Tunisia but common across many partner countries. He highlights legal and regulatory gaps and weak access to cross-border digital payments as recurring constraints that undermine trust and participation in e-business.
He said that across partner countries MSMEs face broadly similar barriers, including incomplete legal and regulatory frameworks that impede trust in digital transactions for both consumers and businesses . He also identified constrained access to cross-border digital payments as another shared obstacle .
on: Practical ecosystem measures such as customs simplification, postal logistics, payments and digital identity are necessary to make e-commerce workable for smaller firms.
The main constraint is often governance and institutional coordination, not only ICT infrastructure (Mr. Faicel Belaid)
Arg. 2Mr. Belaid argues that e-business reforms often stall because of governance weaknesses rather than purely technical infrastructure gaps. He stresses that real coordination, national prioritisation and stakeholder engagement are what determine whether strategies are implemented or remain paper commitments.
He said that across 41 eTrade readiness assessments, one finding holds without exception: the binding constraints to advancing e-business are not only ICT infrastructure but also governance and institutional coordination . He added that coordination mechanisms often exist on paper but lapse in practice, and cited a 2025 review of implementation support across 23 developing countries showing that reforms advance where digital trade is a national priority and coordination is real .
on: Tunisia’s progress in e-commerce has depended on long-term coordination, political will and strong national institutional leadership.
Reform tools such as the E-Trade Reform Tracker help national committees coordinate, monitor and sustain implementation (Mr. Faicel Belaid)
Arg. 3Mr. Belaid argues that implementation support tools matter because institutions, not just strategies, determine success. He presents the E-Trade Reform Tracker as a practical mechanism to help national committees organise reforms digitally, monitor progress and keep momentum over time.
He said institutions determine success, not strategy documents alone, and described UNCTAD’s E-Trade Reform Tracker as a tool that gives national e-trade committees the ability to digitally coordinate reforms and maintain momentum . He added that the tool is being deployed in Tunisia to support the national e-trade committee overseeing the forthcoming national e-commerce strategy and is available to all partner countries at no cost .
on: Tunisia’s next phase should focus on implementation, strategy coherence and tools that sustain reform over time.
Inclusion remains difficult in rural areas, so dedicated programmes are needed to connect them to global markets (Audience)
Arg. 1The audience speaker argues that inclusion cannot be assumed simply because e-commerce is growing nationally. They stress that people in rural communities still face major obstacles in reaching global markets, which is why targeted programmes such as those using postal networks remain necessary.
The speaker referred to other interventions in Tunisia, including tourism support, and said it is difficult for people in rural communities such as Tataouine to reach global markets . The speaker then welcomed UPU’s specific programme as an important effort to ensure that all people are included in e-commerce .
on: Inclusion of MSMEs, women and rural entrepreneurs is a core test of whether digital trade reforms are succeeding.
A reliable digital environment, institutional coordination and public-private dialogue are necessary for a functioning e-commerce ecosystem (Audience)
Arg. 2The audience speaker argues that a successful e-commerce ecosystem depends on more than strategy documents or donor support. They emphasise the need for a clear vision, a reliable digital environment, strong inter-institutional coordination and dialogue between the public and private sectors.
The speaker said the national e-commerce strategy would be key for establishing the framework for e-commerce in Tunisia and stressed the importance of having a clear vision and a reliable digital environment . The speaker also said strong coordination between institutions and dialogue between the private sector and the public sector are essential .
on: Practical ecosystem measures such as customs simplification, postal logistics, payments and digital identity are necessary to make e-commerce workable for smaller firms.
Tunisia’s next phase should build on strategy, strong coordination and continuity of support (Audience)
Arg. 3The audience speaker argues that Tunisia’s progress now needs to be consolidated through the national e-commerce strategy and continued external support. The emphasis is on using strategy as a framework while maintaining coordination and long-term backing to ensure implementation succeeds.
The speaker said Tunisia is a priority country for SECO and noted that since 2021 SECO has supported the e-commerce programme to help beneficiary countries harness digital economy opportunities . The speaker also said the national e-commerce strategy would be key for establishing the framework for e-commerce, while underlining the need for clear vision, institutional coordination and continued support for inclusion .
on: International cooperation and partnerships remain essential both for Tunisia and for broader replication in other countries.
Session Knowledge Graph
Speakers · Topics · Arguments · Relationships
Multiple speakers agreed that Tunisia’s achievements did not arise from isolated technical fixes but from sustained institutional commitment, coordination and leadership. Mr. Hadhri described Tunisia’s long national commitment and the role of cooperation with international organisations and partners in driving reform . Ms. Fondeur explicitly said political will and a single focal point with a clear overall vision are essential for complex e-commerce reform . Mr. Howe reinforced this by presenting Tunisia as proof of what long-term work with a willing and capable ministry can achieve . Mr. Belaid generalised the lesson, arguing that governance and institutional coordination are often the decisive constraints, with reforms advancing where coordination is real and digital trade is a national priority . The audience speaker likewise stressed the need for a clear vision, strong coordination and continuity of support around the national strategy .
International partnerships helped Tunisia connect policy, logistics and market access reforms (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri)
Political will and a clear national focal point are essential to make reforms work (Ms. Scarlett Fondeur)
Tunisia shows the value of long-term cooperation with a capable national partner (Mr. James Howe)
The main constraint is often governance and institutional coordination, not only ICT infrastructure (Mr. Faicel Belaid)
Tunisia’s next phase should build on strategy, strong coordination and continuity of support (Audience)
This aligns with Tunisia’s National Digital Strategy 2021-2025, which centres digital governance, legal reform, public-administration transformation, inclusion, and ecosystem development under a national strategy [S56]. It is also consistent with WSIS guidance that governments should elaborate comprehensive national e-strategies and lead implementation in partnership with other stakeholders [S57]. Comparable UNCTAD eTrade assessments have likewise stressed political will and institutional coordination as prerequisites for digital trade progress [S67].
There was clear agreement that trust and legality are prerequisites for digital trade. Mr. Hadhri said Tunisia understood early that digital transformation could not happen without trust and therefore established a legal framework recognising electronic documents and signatures, along with TuneTrust and later privacy protections . Mr. Belaid similarly argued that incomplete legal and regulatory frameworks are a common barrier for MSMEs because they weaken trust in digital transactions for both consumers and businesses . The audience speaker echoed this by stressing the need for a reliable digital environment as part of the framework for e-commerce .
Early legal trust framework enabled e-commerce growth (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri)
MSMEs across countries face common barriers such as weak legal frameworks and limited cross-border digital payments (Mr. Faicel Belaid)
A reliable digital environment, institutional coordination and public-private dialogue are necessary for a functioning e-commerce ecosystem (Audience)
This is strongly supported by UNCTAD and UNCITRAL-related framing that digital trade growth creates urgency for legal frameworks addressing digitisation, data governance, and trust in online transactions [S48]. Authoritative legal context is provided by model-law work on digital identity, trust services, and electronic transferable records, which is presented as essential for interoperability and confidence in e-commerce [S55]. Tunisia’s own digital strategy also explicitly includes review of the legal framework, digital governance, cybersecurity, and cybercrime prevention [S56].
Speakers converged on the idea that digital trade should be evaluated by its ability to widen participation. Mr. Hadhri said digital transformation is about people, especially giving opportunities to entrepreneurs, youth, women and those previously constrained by geography . He also presented the artisan example and the Easy Export model as evidence that inclusion can be made practical through postal channels and simplified export support . Ms. Fondeur framed Tunisia precisely as a case showing how policy and practical measures can support inclusive and sustainable e-commerce development . The audience speaker agreed on the importance of inclusion but stressed that reaching rural communities remains difficult, which is why dedicated support programmes are still needed .
Digital trade should be judged by whether it expands opportunities for people, especially youth, women and rural entrepreneurs (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri)
Easy Export and the postal network turned local post offices into gateways to global markets for small producers (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri)
Inclusion remains difficult in rural areas, so dedicated programmes are needed to connect them to global markets (Audience)
Tunisia’s experience can inform wider support to other countries seeking inclusive e-commerce development (Ms. Scarlett Fondeur)
This reflects established development framing in WSIS, which calls for enabling policies that foster entrepreneurship, particularly small, medium and micro enterprises, while paying attention to marginalised groups [S57]. It is reinforced by AfCFTA discussions stressing MSME inclusion, the gender divide, digital skills, and practical support for women entrepreneurs in digital trade [S52]. Additional policy literature notes that e-commerce can expand women’s participation in trade, but only if the gender digital divide and SME barriers are addressed [S54]. Postal-network discussions also highlight rural and remote post offices as critical service points for SMEs and inclusion [S50].
There was agreement that success depends on concrete operational reforms, not only high-level strategy. Mr. Hadhri highlighted customs simplification, consolidated declarations, improved customs-post coordination, digital payments reform, mobile ID and the auto-entrepreneur platform as measures that reduce burdens and enable trusted trade and formalisation . Mr. Belaid supported this by identifying weak legal frameworks and limited access to cross-border digital payments as common practical barriers faced by MSMEs . The audience speaker similarly argued that a functioning e-commerce ecosystem requires a reliable digital environment, coordination and public-private dialogue, indicating support for an ecosystem approach rather than a single-policy solution .
Simplified customs procedures and consolidated declarations reduced administrative burdens for e-commerce exporters (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri)
Digital payments, mobile ID and entrepreneur registration platforms are key enablers of formalisation and trusted online trade (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri)
MSMEs across countries face common barriers such as weak legal frameworks and limited cross-border digital payments (Mr. Faicel Belaid)
A reliable digital environment, institutional coordination and public-private dialogue are necessary for a functioning e-commerce ecosystem (Audience)
This point is directly supported by trade and logistics sources emphasising that e-commerce depends on enabling systems such as parcel tracking, developed postal infrastructure, and online ordering and payment flows [S48]. UPU and UNCTAD discussions frame postal data exchange, electronic advance data, automation, and postal capability upgrades as trade-facilitation measures benefiting MSMEs [S49]. UPU trade-facilitation work also highlights standards, single-window integration, and the role of postal services in cross-border trade [S51]. Cross-border payments are identified as a pressing issue for inclusive digital trade under AfCFTA debates [S52], while digital identity and trust services are presented as critical legal enablers for seamless trading [S55].
Speakers agreed that the next challenge is to consolidate reform into an implementable long-term framework. Mr. Hadhri said the eTrade readiness assessment gave Tunisia a roadmap, produced 63 recommendations and had already yielded substantial implementation progress, while the forthcoming 2027-2031 national e-commerce strategy is intended to unify reforms into one coherent vision . Mr. Belaid echoed this by arguing that institutions determine success and by presenting the E-Trade Reform Tracker as a means to coordinate and maintain implementation momentum . The audience speaker also described the national strategy as key and linked it to clear vision, coordination and ongoing support . Ms. Fondeur’s framing of Tunisia as a model for broader learning reinforced the importance of turning experience into replicable and sustained implementation .
Tunisia’s e-trade readiness assessment and action plan provided a roadmap and have already produced strong implementation progress (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri)
Tunisia is preparing its first national e-commerce strategy to unify reforms into a coherent national vision (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri)
Reform tools such as the E-Trade Reform Tracker help national committees coordinate, monitor and sustain implementation (Mr. Faicel Belaid)
Tunisia’s next phase should build on strategy, strong coordination and continuity of support (Audience)
Tunisia’s experience can inform wider support to other countries seeking inclusive e-commerce development (Ms. Scarlett Fondeur)
This matches WSIS follow-up language stressing sustainable implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and time-bound national e-strategies aligned across levels of action [S57]. Tunisia’s National Digital Strategy 2021-2025 provides a formal framework for such implementation through governance reform, inclusion, infrastructure, public-service digitisation, cybersecurity, skills, and entrepreneurship support [S56]. Broader digital-governance commentary also argues that, after years of policy discussion, the priority is consolidation and action [S65].
A broad consensus emerged that partnership is both a driver of Tunisia’s success and a requirement for future progress elsewhere. Mr. Hadhri repeatedly described Tunisia’s path as based on cooperation with international organisations, development partners and the private sector, and called for continued digital cooperation, capacity building and financing for developing countries . Ms. Fondeur introduced Tunisia as a beneficiary case intended to inform wider initiatives for other countries and stakeholders . Mr. Howe said Tunisia demonstrates the power of long-term collaboration and added that Tunisian expertise is now being transferred to support other African countries . Mr. Belaid stated that UNCTAD would remain engaged with partners and cited joint work in Tunisia as an example of continued collaboration . The audience speaker referred to SECO’s continuing support since 2021 and the importance of backing beneficiary countries . Ms. Sibille complemented this with a regional lens, pointing to the African Free Trade Agreement as a vehicle for further trade expansion .
International partnerships helped Tunisia connect policy, logistics and market access reforms (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri)
Continued digital cooperation, capacity building and financing are still needed for developing countries (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri)
Tunisia shows the value of long-term cooperation with a capable national partner (Mr. James Howe)
Tunisian expertise is now being shared beyond the country, including in Africa, showing sustainable development impact (Mr. James Howe)
Tunisia’s experience can inform wider support to other countries seeking inclusive e-commerce development (Ms. Scarlett Fondeur)
Regional trade frameworks in Africa can further support exports and imports between countries (Ms. Radka Sibille)
Tunisia’s next phase should build on strategy, strong coordination and continuity of support (Audience)
This is consistent with the Tunis Agenda, which treats international, regional, and multi-stakeholder cooperation as essential to implementing digital-development goals and strengthening national capacities [S57]. WSIS-era and contemporary policy discussions similarly frame international cooperation, twinning, standards work, and UN interagency collaboration as indispensable for digital transformation [S61]. African digital-policy analysis also shows that partnerships with international actors and development institutions are a recurring element of national digital strategies and implementation efforts [S59] [S62] [S68].
These speakers shared the view that governance quality and institutional leadership are central to digital trade reform. Mr. Hadhri linked Tunisia’s journey to national commitment and coordinated cooperation . Ms. Fondeur emphasised political will and the need for a focal point with an overview of the whole reform agenda . Mr. Howe praised the ministry’s discipline and long-term partnership role . Mr. Belaid broadened the same point by arguing that governance and coordination are often more decisive than infrastructure alone . All three stressed that e-commerce needs a trusted and reliable framework. Mr. Hadhri described the foundational role of legal recognition for electronic transactions, signatures and privacy . Mr. Belaid said incomplete legal and regulatory frameworks continue to impede trust and participation by MSMEs . The audience speaker used similar language in calling for a reliable digital environment to underpin the e-commerce ecosystem . These speakers agreed that inclusion is a substantive policy objective, not merely a by-product of growth. Mr. Hadhri framed digital transformation as empowering women, youth and geographically remote entrepreneurs and illustrated this through the artisan and postal examples . Ms. Fondeur highlighted Tunisia precisely because it connected policy and practical measures for inclusive and sustainable digital trade . The audience speaker endorsed this priority while noting that rural inclusion remains difficult and requires focused programmes . They shared an ecosystem view of reform in which payments, customs, identity systems, logistics and business processes must work together. Mr. Hadhri detailed customs simplification, post-customs coordination, payment modernisation, mobile ID and online registration as interlocking enablers . Mr. Belaid pointed to payment barriers and legal gaps as recurrent obstacles across countries . The audience speaker similarly argued for a broader functioning ecosystem built on reliable digital conditions and inter-institutional coordination . These speakers converged around the idea that Tunisia’s experience should feed wider regional and international learning. Mr. Hadhri called for continued cooperation, capacity building and financing for developing countries . Mr. Howe said Tunisian expertise is now supporting work in other parts of Africa and that new projects are extending into services trade . Ms. Sibille pointed to the African Free Trade Agreement as a vehicle for broader regional trade growth . The audience speaker also stressed continuing support and strategic consolidation .
An unexpected area of consensus was the extent to which speakers from different institutional positions converged on governance rather than infrastructure as the key determinant of success. Mr. Hadhri’s narrative highlighted institutional commitment and coordinated partnerships . Ms. Fondeur focused on political will and a central focal point . Mr. Howe praised the ministry’s discipline and long-term partnership value . Mr. Belaid made the point explicit by saying governance and coordination, not ICT infrastructure alone, are the binding constraints across countries . The audience speaker independently echoed the need for clear vision and coordination .
A notable consensus emerged around the strategic role of the postal system in inclusion and cross-border trade. Mr. Hadhri described local post offices as gateways to global markets and said postal staff were trained as export advisers . The audience speaker welcomed UPU’s specific programme because rural communities still struggle to reach global markets . Although brief, Ms. Sibille’s focus on regional trade facilitation complemented this practical logistics-oriented perspective .
Rather than treating e-commerce only as a private market issue, several speakers implicitly agreed that it involves state modernisation and formalisation. Mr. Hadhri linked mobile ID, digital payments and the auto-entrepreneur platform to bringing people from the informal to the formal economy and to access to digital public services . The audience speaker similarly spoke of the need for a reliable framework and institutional coordination rather than market activity alone . Mr. Belaid added that implementation tools for national committees are needed because institutions determine success .
There were no clear direct disagreements or confrontations among the speakers. The discussion was strongly consensual, with all participants broadly endorsing Tunisia’s digital trade trajectory, the value of partnerships, the need for inclusion, and the importance of governance and implementation .
Both speakers agreed that Tunisia’s next phase depends on effective implementation and coordination rather than strategy documents alone. Mr. Hadhri stressed that the 2021 eTrade readiness assessment produced a roadmap with 63 recommendations and that 78% of the 2022-2023 action plan activities were completed or near completion . Mr. Belaid agreed on the importance of implementation, but placed stronger emphasis on governance failures as the recurring bottleneck across countries, arguing that coordination often exists only on paper and that tools such as the E-Trade Reform Tracker are needed to sustain momentum . Thus, they shared the same goal of effective reform delivery, while differing in emphasis on whether Tunisia’s existing progress is the main story or whether institutional coordination remains the more decisive challenge .
Tunisia’s e-trade readiness assessment and action plan provided a roadmap and have already produced strong implementation progress (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri) The main constraint is often governance and institutional coordination, not only ICT infrastructure (Mr. Faicel Belaid) Reform tools such as the E-Trade Reform Tracker help national committees coordinate, monitor and sustain implementation (Mr. Faicel Belaid)
Both speakers agreed that inclusion of rural communities, women and smaller entrepreneurs is a central goal of e-commerce development. Mr. Hadhri argued that digital transformation is about people, especially entrepreneurs, youth, women and those held back by geography, and he presented postal-network reforms as evidence that rural and small-scale exporters can now access global markets . The audience speaker endorsed the goal but was more cautious, stressing that in places such as Tataouine it remains difficult for rural communities to reach global markets and therefore welcomed dedicated programmes to address this . The agreement is on the objective of inclusion, while the difference lies in how far that inclusion has already been achieved in practice .
Digital trade should be judged by whether it expands opportunities for people, especially youth, women and rural entrepreneurs (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri) Inclusion remains difficult in rural areas, so dedicated programmes are needed to connect them to global markets (Audience)
All three speakers agreed that cross-border e-commerce growth requires cooperation beyond a single ministry. Mr. Hadhri highlighted international partnerships with ITC, the World Bank, UPU and UNCTAD as the basis for connecting legal reform, logistics, customs and skills development . Mr. Howe agreed on the value of partnership, but framed the main lesson as the power of long-term collaboration with a capable national partner over twenty years . Ms. Sibille, in contrast, pointed to the African Free Trade Agreement as a wider regional vehicle for scaling exports and imports between countries . They therefore shared the same goal of deepening digital trade cooperation, while differing in whether the key pathway is project-based international partnership, long-term institutional partnership, or regional trade integration .
International partnerships helped Tunisia connect policy, logistics and market access reforms (Mr. Khabbab Hadhri) Regional trade frameworks in Africa can further support exports and imports between countries (Ms. Radka Sibille) Tunisia shows the value of long-term cooperation with a capable national partner (Mr. James Howe)
These speakers all agreed that governance and coordination are essential for e-commerce reform success. Ms. Fondeur stressed political will and the importance of one focal point with a clear overall vision to manage a complex reform agenda . The audience speaker similarly underlined the need for a clear vision, a reliable digital environment, strong inter-institutional coordination and public-private dialogue . Mr. Belaid agreed on the centrality of governance, but broadened the point by arguing from comparative evidence that institutional coordination is often the binding constraint across countries, even when mechanisms formally exist . The shared goal is coherent governance; the difference is mainly in scale and framing, from Tunisia-specific coordination to a general cross-country diagnosis .
Political will and a clear national focal point are essential to make reforms work (Ms. Scarlett Fondeur) A reliable digital environment, institutional coordination and public-private dialogue are necessary for a functioning e-commerce ecosystem (Audience) The main constraint is often governance and institutional coordination, not only ICT infrastructure (Mr. Faicel Belaid)
- Tunisia was presented as a strong long-term example of inclusive digital trade development under the WSIS Action Line C7 on eBusiness, showing how sustained reform over two decades can build a functioning e-commerce ecosystem.
- An early legal trust framework was identified as foundational to Tunisia’s progress, including Law 83-2000 on electronic exchange and electronic commerce, the recognition of electronic documents and signatures, and the creation of TunTrust as the national certification authority.
- Tunisia’s digital trade progress has depended not only on laws but also on institutions, infrastructure, political will, and consistent international partnerships with UNCTAD, ITC, UPU, the World Bank and development partners such as SECO.
- The discussion emphasised that digital transformation should be measured by its benefits for people, especially MSMEs, women, youth and rural entrepreneurs, rather than by technology alone.
- The Easy Export initiative and the use of the postal network as a one-stop export channel were highlighted as practical measures that reduced barriers for small producers and made cross-border e-commerce more accessible.
- Simplified customs procedures, including a consolidated declaration regime for e-commerce shipments, were presented as important trade facilitation reforms that lowered administrative burdens and costs for MSMEs.
- Digital payments, fintech reforms, the Tunipay mobile payment label, mobile ID (e-Hawiyah), and digital registration platforms for auto-entrepreneurs were identified as key enablers of trust, formalisation, and broader participation in online trade.
- Tunisia’s 2021 eTrade Readiness Assessment and subsequent action plan were described as an effective roadmap for reform, with 78% of planned activities completed or in the final stages of implementation.
- Participants stressed that governance and institutional coordination are often the main constraints to e-business development, sometimes more so than ICT infrastructure itself.
- Tunisia is now entering a new phase through the preparation of its first national e-commerce strategy for 2027-2031, intended to unify reforms, partnerships and priorities into a coherent national vision.
- The discussion suggested that Tunisia’s experience offers lessons for replication in other countries, including through African regional frameworks and by sharing Tunisian expertise across the continent.
- There was interest in moving beyond goods trade into higher-value digital trade opportunities, including cross-border online services trade.
“‘Digital transformation could not happen without trust.’ Mr. Hadhri then linked this to Tunisia’s early 2000 e-commerce law, digital signatures, TuneTrust, and later data protection reforms.”
“The Virtual Marketplace project ‘introduced a completely different vision’ by showing that ‘a small artisan, a young entrepreneur or family business could also become an exporter’ through digital marketplaces.”
“‘Digital transformation is not only about technology, it’s about people.’ Mr. Hadhri connected this to youth, women, entrepreneurs and the removal of geographic barriers.”
“The story of the woman artisan in Kairouan who can now go to her local post office and ship products to France, Germany or Canada because the national postal network became a ‘gateway to global market’.”
“Ms. Fondeur observed that success depends on ‘political will’ and on having ‘one focal point with a clear overall vision, a little bit like a drone that can see all of the moving parts’ of e-commerce development.”
“James Howe remarked that Tunisia shows ‘what that means when we have a willing and very capable partner and we commit for the long term and we do some things together’, adding that it is worth asking, ‘could we do this in other places?’”
“James Howe further noted that Tunisia is helping pioneer a ‘new wave’ in which the focus shifts towards how to sell services online across borders, ‘beyond being a freelancer online’.”
“Faicel Belaid argued that the main constraint in advancing e-business ‘is not only the ICT infrastructure. It’s also about governance. And it’s also about institutional coordinations’, adding that many coordination mechanisms ‘exist on paper and lapse in practice’.”
“Faicel Belaid stated that MSMEs across countries face similar barriers, including ‘incomplete legal and regulatory framework that impedes trust in digital transactions’ and ‘constrained access to cross-border digital payments’.”
“The SECO representative emphasised the need for ‘a clear vision’, ‘strong coordination between the different institutions’, and ‘dialogue between the private sector and the public sector’, while raising inclusion challenges in rural places such as Tataouine.”
Can Tunisia’s long-term, multi-agency e-commerce development model be replicated in other countries, and what conditions would be required for success?
He explicitly asked whether similar work could be done elsewhere and implied the need to study the ingredients of success, such as committed national partners, institutional discipline, long-term engagement and coordinated support from agencies. This is important for scaling impact beyond Tunisia.
What lessons can be drawn from Tunisia’s 20-year experience about the impact of sustained partnerships and institutional continuity on e-commerce reform outcomes?
He stressed that Tunisia provides a rare long-term perspective and said it is worth thinking about the impact of this experience. This suggests further examination of how continuity, expertise and partnership over time translate into durable results.
How can Tunisian expertise be transferred to support e-commerce development in other African countries?
He noted that expertise developed in Tunisia is already being exported to support work in other parts of Africa. This points to a need for further research on knowledge transfer models, regional capacity-building and sustainability of South-South cooperation.
How can cross-border online trade in services be developed and supported, beyond freelance work?
He highlighted a new wave of work focused on selling services online across borders and described it as very exciting. This indicates a clear area for further exploration, including training models, policy needs and business support mechanisms for digital services exports.
How can the African Continental Free Trade Area be used to further expand intra-African exports and imports through e-commerce?
She referred to the African Free Trade Agreement as a vehicle to further trade between countries. This suggests follow-up work on how AfCFTA frameworks can be operationalised to support e-commerce logistics, regulation and market access across Africa.
How can countries ensure that e-commerce coordination mechanisms function in practice rather than only existing on paper?
He stated that governance and institutional coordination are major binding constraints and that many coordination mechanisms lapse in practice. This raises an important follow-up question on effective governance design and implementation for e-business reforms.
How can digital trade reforms be made a genuine national priority with effective stakeholder coordination?
He observed that reforms advance where digital trade is a national priority and stakeholders are actively involved. This suggests further research into policy processes, institutional leadership and multi-stakeholder engagement needed to sustain reform momentum.
How effective is the UNCTAD E-Trade Reform Tracker in helping national committees coordinate, monitor and implement e-commerce reforms?
Mr. Belaid presented the tool as a mechanism to maintain reform momentum, and Mr. Hadhri said Tunisia had requested to use it and was awaiting political approval. This creates a clear area for follow-up on implementation, effectiveness and lessons from deployment.
How can enabling environment gaps that markets do not solve on their own be addressed, especially legal trust frameworks and cross-border digital payments for MSMEs?
He identified incomplete legal and regulatory frameworks and constrained access to cross-border digital payments as common barriers for MSMEs. This points to a need for further research into policy interventions that improve trust and payment access.
How can inclusivity in e-commerce be improved for people in rural communities, such as those in Tataouine, so they can access global markets?
She explicitly raised inclusivity and pointed to the difficulty faced by rural communities in reaching global markets. This is important because equitable access is central to the development aims discussed throughout the session.
What specific programmes or mechanisms can ensure that all people, particularly underserved groups, are included in e-commerce?
She welcomed hearing about a specific UPU programme aimed at inclusion and implied interest in learning more about practical approaches to broad-based participation. This is important for translating policy commitments into inclusive outcomes.
What practical support is being offered by the co-facilitating agencies and other partners for countries interested in e-commerce and digital economy development?
She invited the agencies to explain what comes next and what wider initiatives other countries and stakeholders might be interested in. This indicates an open follow-up area concerning available programmes, tools and partnership opportunities.
How will Tunisia’s first national e-commerce strategy for 2027–2031 be implemented and how will its priorities be monitored over time?
Mr. Hadhri presented the strategy as a major upcoming milestone, Mr. Belaid linked it to institutional leadership and implementation tools, and Florence described it as key for establishing the framework. This makes implementation, governance and monitoring a clear area for further follow-up.