NextProtein, a company founded by two Tunisians, Syrine Chaalala and Mohamed Gastli, last week signed a partnership agreement that will enable it to expand its activities in Latin America. The investment, worth 655 million pesos (around 120 MTND), will enable the company to set up five plants across the country, create 400 jobs and recycle around 200 tonnes of organic waste a year. Thanks to this partnership, the company will have access to out-of-date vegetable and fruit waste from Central de Abasto, the Mexican capital’s main wholesale market. This waste will then be used to breed flies, which are transformed into a number of products used in the manufacture of protein-rich animal feed. NextProtein was founded in 2015 and, although it is currently based in France, it continues to operate two plants in Tunisia. The company says that, thanks to its process, it is able to create as much protein in a 100m² area as a 100-hectare field of soya. The company plans to accelerate its expansion in Latin America over the coming years, with investments of 430 million dinars over the medium term.

The major event for the promotion and development of the aerospace sector in Tunisia in terms of attracting FDI and subcontracting is back: Aerospace Meetings Tunisia kicked off on 23 April and ended on 25 April at El Mghira Park. This 4th edition was highlighted by Mrs Féryel Ouerghi, Minister of Economy and Planning, who indicated, during the inaugural plenary session, that the aeronautics industry represents a priority and important sector in the national industrial strategy, while stressing that the major objective is to position Tunisia as a key player on a regional and international scale.

The Minister expressed the government’s determination to provide all the necessary conditions to support growth sectors with a high technological continuity and high added value, improve the business climate, generalise the digitalisation of the administration and resolve the problems linked to the land sector. For his part, Mr Jalel Tebib, Managing Director of FIPA-Tunisia, emphasised that Tunisia has a number of assets at its disposal, including the country’s strategic position, the availability of Tunisian expertise and an investment climate conducive to business development. He also pointed out that the authorities are aware of the challenges facing this sector, but that these can be resolved through the collaboration of all those involved and the entire aeronautical ecosystem.

Thierry Haure Mirande, Chairman of GITAS, said that Tunisia’s aeronautical supply chain was the first of its kind in the Arab Maghreb, making the most of Tunisia’s highly qualified and experienced skills.
Testimonies were given in this field to show that Tunisia has acquired a status that is worth welcoming investors, such as Airbus Atlantic, Safran Tunisie, Corse Composites Aéronautiques Tunisie, Figeac Aero Tunisie and Hutchinson Aerospace Tunisie.
En outre des rencontres B2B, trois ateliers thématiques ont été organisés visant à échanger les idées, partager les bonnes pratiques, explorer les dernières nouveautés technologiques et identifier les domaines d’amélioration.
For the first time since its creation, a prize bearing the name of the founding father of Aerospace meeting, the late Gaby Lopez, was awarded to Mr Malek Elj for his project ‘Digitalisation of the UAP profiled using Lean tools’ and Ms Siwar Lacheb for her project ‘Detection of atypical flight operations using AI’.
This year’s event, organised by Advanced Business Events in collaboration with FIPA and GITAS, was attended by 150 companies representing 10 countries.