Majdi Hassen, Executive Director of Tunisian think tank Institut arabe des chefs d’entreprises (IACE) talks with CIPE’s Anna Kompanek about the economic reform initiatives his organization is undertaking in Tunisia. IACE is an independent, non-profit think tank based in Tunis. Since Tunisia’s revolution, Hassen has overseen IACE’s growth into a “think-and-do” tank that plays a vital role in convening diverse political and civic actors to discuss urgent economic problems.
Hassen has developed a series of IACE programs designed to bring leadership skills and civic awareness to young entrepreneurs, policymakers, and stakeholders in Tunisia. He has also been instrumental in organizing IACE’s Enterprise Days, Tunisia’s biggest economic forum, which gathers over 1000 national and international policymakers, business leaders, and experts to discuss critical private sector issues.
Kompanek and Hassen discuss a major public-private dialogue effort – the National Business Agenda – that has brought together voices in the business community to provide the government with constructive recommendations for economic reform. They also discuss a hotline that has been set up in Tunisia to help local businesses deal with red tape and bureaucratic hurdles.