From Wall Street Journal

Tunisia’s political transition since its 2011 revolution has been taxing for local companies, many of which have had to cope with unrest and higher wage demands, but the climate for investment and business growth appears to be getting better – at least in some sectors.

The Tunisian elections authority recently proposed presidential and parliamentary elections late this year after successive caretaker governments failed to produce a lasting political order. The hope is that the latest polls will cement the North African country’s transition to democracy and give a boost to investor confidence and the economy.

Everyone was affected by the revolution and its aftereffects, said Nayel-Georges Vidal, a Tunis-based director at pan-African private equity firm Emerging Capital Partners. But the tumult hasn’t been as damaging for well-run companies that supply essential services, he said. The revolution has also released a flood of entrepreneurship that had been held back under the previous regime, led by president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

“Entrepreneurs were beyond open to doing more business and to find investors to grow their businesses [after the revolution],” Mr. Vidal said. “Previously they were a bit afraid of appropriation of their assets [by the former regime].”

Written by Asa Fitch/Read more at Wall Street Journal