2023-10-09 10:10:55
According to the survey, the increase in the weight of the informal sector over the last decade has contributed significantly to lower per capita income, more widespread poverty, greater income inequalities, a less developed financial market, a decline in private investment, and delays in achieving sustainable development goals.
The Tunisian Institute for Strategic Studies, in partnership with the “Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung”, published this year a study on financial inclusion and its role in reducing informality in Tunisia. This work is made up of four essential parts, namely “methodological benchmarks and brief focus on informality in Tunisia and its main determinants”, “diagnosis of levels of banking and financial inclusion: Tunisia — versus — regional comparators”, “blocking factors and major obstacles to financial inclusion in Tunisia” and finally “initiatives in favor of financial inclusion in Tunisia and open avenues for reform to remedy informality”.
According to the survey, the increase in the weight of the informal sector over the last decade has contributed significantly to lower per capita income, more widespread poverty, greater income inequalities, a less developed financial market, a decline in private investment, and delays in achieving sustainable development goals.
Vulnerable sectors
According to the World Bank, in 2021, the extent of the informal sector in emerging and developing economies and especially in Africa (excluding the North Africa sub-region) it is the most marked, with a rate of 36.4% of GDP, unlike the Middle East and North Africa region (Mena) , which displays a lower rate (22.2%). In Tunisia, the proliferation of informal activities would represent nearly 40% of GDP in 2014 and 35.6% of the workforce, compared to 29.2% before 2011, with an estimated shortfall in tax revenue. order of 11.5 billion dinars. The sectors of activity most affected by this phenomenon are crafts, services linked to agriculture and certain trades in commerce. The informal economy particularly affects women, low-skilled workers and young people.
It is estimated that 50% of young people work in informal jobs. Although these figures are not very recent, the situation has not changed much. The phenomenon continues to grow and becomes, ultimately, frightening. Periodic statistics from employment surveys by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) show that in 2019, around 23% of the workforce are employees in the informal sector, to which are added 7%. self-employed workers without social security and 2% who contribute to a family business, or nearly 32% of the workforce who are in a precarious situation. Of the entire North African region, Tunisia ranks first in terms of informal production (35.6) and second place in terms of informal employment (58.8).
High commissions
“Despite efforts to strengthen access to financial services, analysis of the profile of banking and financial inclusion in Tunisia shows that it still remains below the averages of international and regional comparators,” assures Ites. “Tunisia has only 37% of the population banked (adults aged 15 and over who declare having an account in a formal institution), compared to 43% on average in the Mena region,” notes the same source.
Women, more than men, are affected by this phenomenon of exclusion since only 28% have an account in a formal institution compared to 46% for men. Nevertheless, Tunisia has initiated a certain dynamic in terms of access and use of digital finance and financial technology (Fintech), including the use of mobile telephony and the internet to carry out financial transactions.
The barriers to financial inclusion in Tunisia are more “involuntary” than “voluntary”. While it is true that for reasons of tax evasion or extreme social vulnerability, voluntary exclusion occurs in order not to resort to formal financial services, the factors experienced in exclusion mean that these barriers are mainly “involuntary” and relate, overall, to structural economic deficiencies which need to be remedied.
Development of the microfinance sector
On another level, and with regard to the blocking factors and major obstacles to financial inclusion in Tunisia, according to the Ites survey, “the major obstacles to access by businesses and individuals to sources of bank financing are in fact exacerbated by the overall liquidity deficit of the banking system and its tightening, which have induced financing constraints of the economy.
The use of cash is inherent to tax evasion, on the one hand, and the delay in the development and use of modern means of payment (POS and bank payment cards) due in particular to high commissions. Furthermore, the overall volume of electronic money transactions remains low compared to other means of payment.
As for the open avenues and reforms that must be undertaken in Tunisia, the work offers several solutions: modulation of the operational framework of monetary policy, a national policy to consolidate decashing, guarantee financial inclusion through The Laterthe development of the financial services sector and digital finance in addition to other unconventional finance measures.
In order to support better financial inclusion, there is a need to review the development strategy of the microfinance sector.
Thus, the financial inclusion of businesses and especially individuals is first and foremost a catalyst for social inclusion, and can constitute a major mechanism for promoting economic growth and offering a better future to the population, especially for low-income Tunisians. income.
“Reforms and comprehensive measures to ensure better access to banking and non-bank sources of financing would also enable the inclusion of the informal sector in the organized economy. Tunisia presents opportunities in terms of financial inclusion. However, it must still overcome structural obstacles and, in the short term, take advantage of and modernize the use of payment means and services, remove the major constraints on companies’ access to sources of financing, strengthen penetration bank accounts and generalize access for individuals to banking and financial services,” mentions Ites.
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