IOM and the Tunisian Bank for Solidarity (BTS), the leading micro
credit lender in the country, will today open a Micro-Credit
Resource Centre (MCRC) at the Bank’s headquarters in Tunis.

The centre is part of a two-year, Italian government and
BTS-funded IOM project in Kasserine and Mahdia governorates
providing technical support to relevant stakeholders to increase
their capacity to implement and manage micro-finance activities,
create sustainable employment and ease migratory pressures in both
regions.

According to Tunisia’s Ministry of Foreign Relations,
there are currently one million Tunisians living outside their
country.

The MCRC, the second of its kind in North Africa and the first
in Tunisia, will provide support to Local Development Associations
(LDAs) by building a network which will provide its members with
services, including technical support and training, and facilitate
information sharing with European counterparts. The MCRC will also
act as a resource/referral centre for all LDAs acting as local BTS
correspondents throughout Tunisia. 

According to IOM project coordinator Mourad Ennar, the MCRC will
provide key information to encourage the use of micro-credits in
rural areas to achieve poverty reduction through self-employment
and the creation of micro projects. “The centre will also
provide information for young people so that they can build their
careers in Tunisia as an alternative to migration abroad,” he
says.

IOM Tunisia will also soon start a project entitled
“Integrated Migration and Development Programme (IMAD)”
covering the Kasserine and Mahdia governorates and focusing on
promoting co-development schemes in both regions, according to
Acting Chief of Mission Marc Petzoldt.

“IOM is also working with the Tunisian Employment Ministry
and the Italian Labour Ministry helping to facilitate labour
migration flows, and to reinforce Tunisia's institutional labour
migration management capacity,” he says.

Thousands of Tunisians living overseas have invested in their
country by creating more than 10,000 enterprises in the
agricultural, industrial and service sectors, employing more than
43,000 people.  According to Tunisia’s Central Bank,
Tunisians living abroad sent home approximately USD 1.9 billion in
remittances in 2007.

For further information, please contact:

Marc Petzoldt

IOM Tunis

Tel: + 216.214.82.145

E-mail: "mailto:mpetzoldt@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">mpetzoldt@iom.int