The Future of the Country Rests on its Ability to Converge the Fight Against Climate Change and Financial Inclusion
The second edition of the exhibition dedicated to female entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, and sustainable economy was held on October 16 and 17, 2025, in Tunis, offering a new experience under the theme "Female Entrepreneurship, Financial Inclusion, and Sustainable Economy in Tunisia". This edition aims to promote a greener and more inclusive economy, encourage the empowerment of women entrepreneurs, and valorize sustainable and innovative solutions for development.
For Strong Socioeconomic Resilience
Speaking during the panel on "Female Entrepreneurship and Sustainability in Tunisia", Hedia Mraihi, a senior expert in sustainable, inclusive, and green finance, stated: "We are living in a period where climate change is no longer a distant threat: it is already shaping our daily lives, economy, and development prospects".
She mentioned that "a fact is imposed: financial inclusion and climate finance are not two separate agendas, but rather two levers of the same national resilience". Mraihi explained during her presentation that in Tunisia, these two dimensions can converge to transform vulnerabilities into real opportunities for sustainable development.
She added: "Finance is not only a driver of economic growth. It can become a real lever to fight against climate change and promote inclusion. In Tunisia, these two pillars, inclusion and climate, must converge to build strong socioeconomic resilience, a resilience that protects but also gives the means to act".
The Imperative of Financial Inclusion
Mraihi emphasized that "less than 40% of Tunisian adults have a bank account. Behind this figure, there are millions of people without access to savings, credit, or insurance. They are the ones who suffer the full force of droughts, floods, or crop losses, without tools to recover.
Financial inclusion is not a luxury, it's an imperative for the resilience of our country". She also highlighted the strong regional disparities: "67% of bank branches are concentrated in Greater Tunis and on the coast, while the interior regions most exposed to droughts remain marginalized.
And among the excluded, women: only 20.7% of adult women have a formal bank account. Yet, they play a central role in agriculture and resource management, often guaranteeing the survival of the household. Including women and rural areas is investing in the first line of defense against climate change".
Economic Challenges
On the economic level, Mraihi recalled that "growth remained low in 2025, at 2.1%, with persistent inflation around 5%. Each year, drought costs us more than 500 million dinars in the agricultural sector. It's a vicious circle: low growth, climate vulnerability, financial exclusion. We must break it".
She specified that "without financial inclusion, each climate shock becomes a social and budgetary crisis. The equation is clear: less inclusion, more vulnerability". For her, "inclusion and climate are inseparable, two sides of the same coin. Without financial inclusion, the green transition will be missed.
Inclusion gives households and SMEs the means to invest in adaptation, while climate finance channels resources to these actors to accelerate the transition. This vulnerability can become a driver of innovation, a vector of shared and sustainable prosperity".
Persistent Obstacles
The expert estimated that "the good news is that 90% of Tunisians have access to a mobile phone and that electronic transactions increased by 26% in 2025. Digital wallets can become the gateway to bank rural areas and distribute climate insurance.
Technology transforms risk into opportunity". She specified that "to achieve its climate goals, Tunisia needs around $1.7 billion per year, while it currently only covers 48%. Financial inclusion can help bridge this gap by mobilizing local savings and creating green products accessible to all".
Mraihi insisted: "It is crucial to identify the key sectors to invest in: resilient agriculture, water management, green energy, sustainable infrastructure. These investments are essential to build inclusive and resilient growth". She added that several obstacles persist: unsuitable financial products, high perception of credit risk, insufficient coordination between donors and limited ESG skills.
"Overcoming these obstacles is essential to transform financing into concrete impacts on the ground". Finally, she pleaded for the creation of a National Climate Guarantee Fund, covering up to 70% of the risk on green loans. This will also serve for public-private co-financing and mobilizing local savings through green bonds.
She concluded: "Beyond the numbers, it's about changing people's lives: 670,000 beneficiaries, autonomous women, resilient communities. Investing today is ensuring a safer and more inclusive future for Tunisia".
