Italy and Tunisia are strengthening cooperation in AI, startups and technology investment at Big Tech Africa 2026 in Tunis, linking Mediterranean expertise to African markets.Italy
Italy and Tunisia are putting artificial intelligence, startups and technology investment at the center of a renewed partnership aimed at connecting expertise across the Mediterranean and opening new opportunities in African markets.
The push is taking shape at the third edition of Big Tech Africa 2026, which opened at the City of Culture in Tunis in the presence of Tunisian Minister of Communication Technologies Sofiene Hemissi, Italian Ambassador to Tunisia Alessandro Prunas and Bernard Prevete, director of the ICE office in Tunis. The two-day event brings together institutions, businesses, startups and investors to discuss the continent’s digital transformation prospects.
Italy’s participation is centered on the Italian Innovation Hub, a national pavilion coordinated by ITA-Agenzia with the support of the Italian Embassy in Tunis. The hub is designed as a meeting place between the Italian innovation system and Tunisian and African entrepreneurial ecosystems.
The initiative gathers startup support programs, associations, financial institutions and organizations engaged in cooperation and skills transfer, with the aim of fostering partnerships, investments and opportunities for international growth.
Participants include Lab Innova for Africa – Luca Attanasio, Terna Innovation Zone, InnovaTech, InnovUp, Fintech District and the Italian Business Angels Network (IBAN), together with the Tunisian-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CTICI), the Tunisian branch of CIES Onlus and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS).
Activities range from supporting innovative businesses and promoting sustainable entrepreneurship to startup financing and technologies for the energy transition. Organizers say the pavilion reflects a strategy aimed not only at enhancing commercial opportunities, but also at strengthening skills, training programs and investment networks capable of connecting Italian companies with local talent.
For Tunisia, which aims to reinforce its role as a regional platform for the development and export of digital solutions, connecting with the Italian ecosystem can facilitate access to specialized skills, capital and European markets.
The theme is part of the priorities outlined by the Tunisian government. Speaking at the opening of the event, Hemissi said digitalization, artificial intelligence and technological innovation are central to the 2026–2030 national development plan.
The minister also announced the adoption of the national strategy for artificial intelligence for the same period, prioritizing research, digital skills development, investment and personal data protection.
“Technology is no longer just a promising economic sector, but a force capable of transforming economies, societies, production systems and services,” Hemissi said, emphasizing that the ability to innovate has become one of the “main factors of competitiveness, growth and economic sovereignty.”
For Italy and Tunisia, the event signals a broader ambition: to turn Mediterranean innovation cooperation into a bridge to African markets, with AI, startups and technology investment as key drivers.
TunisianMonitorNews
