Brain Drain in Tunisia: A Threat to the Country's AI Potential
Tunisia is struggling to retain its artificial intelligence (AI) engineers due to significant salary disparities, limited infrastructure, and low investment in research and development (R&D). Experts and industry players are calling for public policies and private initiatives to transform this brain drain into opportunities for economic and social development.
International Competition for AI Talent
On the international stage, where tech giants are fiercely competing to recruit the best researchers, Tunisia is facing a dilemma. According to Sami Ayari, co-founder of the Tunisian AI Society, the salary gap, lack of technological infrastructure, and insufficient R&D investment are hindering the valorization of human capital.
The High Cost of Brain Drain
Ayari highlighted that the salary disparity is a major obstacle: an AI engineer in Tunisia earns between 2,000 and 3,000 dinars per month, compared to 6,000 to 12,000 dollars in Europe or North America, which is 5 to 10 times more. Additionally, AI engineers abroad have access to advanced infrastructure, such as GPUs and massive databases, which are often lacking in Tunisia.
Limited R&D Investment and Career Opportunities
Ayari emphasized that the low R&D investment, limited to 0.7% of GDP compared to 2-3% in developed countries, significantly restricts innovation opportunities. He also noted that scientific careers suffer from a lack of valorization, with stagnant salaries and limited transversality in training, which hinders synergies between universities and industries.
Global Competition for AI Talent
Globally, the competition for AI talent is fierce. For example, on June 17, 2025, Meta poached three researchers from OpenAI in Zurich with offers nearing $100 million, illustrating the intensity of the talent war waged by giants like Meta, Google, and OpenAI.
Priorities for AI Development in Tunisia
To make AI a technology that heals, educates, and includes in Tunisia, several priorities must be targeted. In the health sector, deploying tools such as medical imaging-based diagnostic applications to detect diseases like cancer early or chatbots for telemedicine in Arabic and Tunisian dialect can improve access to care in rural areas.
Education and Inclusion
In the education sector, adaptive learning platforms that can personalize online courses, as well as teaching AI basics from secondary school, would democratize digital skills and reduce school dropout rates. Developing AI solutions for people with disabilities, such as voice recognition applications in Arabic, and for SMEs, through logistics management tools, would strengthen social impact.
Reducing Dependence on Foreign Technologies
Reducing dependence on foreign technologies requires investing in local AI models trained on Tunisian data. Ayari affirmed that to transform Tunisian human capital into local added value and counter brain drain, targeted public policies are essential.
Public Policies and Private Initiatives
These policies include providing tax incentives, such as exemptions for AI startups and subsidies for acquiring infrastructure like servers and GPUs, to stimulate innovation. The development of innovation hubs, such as technoparks in Sfax or Tunis, would foster partnerships between universities, startups, and industries, bringing ecosystem actors closer together.
Retaining Talent and Investing in Local Startups
To retain talent, retention programs are necessary, including attractive doctoral scholarships with a 3-5 year commitment in Tunisia, as well as reversible international mobility initiatives to encourage the return of the diaspora. Investing in local deeptech startups by mobilizing venture capital funds would stimulate innovation and valorize talents on the spot.
National AI Strategy
A national AI strategy, eagerly awaited since February after successive announcements by the Minister of Communication Technologies and Digital Economy, must be defined to align training, integrate AI into engineering curricula, regulate data, and respond to sectoral needs, particularly in health, smart agriculture, and e-governance, to create a coherent and dynamic ecosystem.
Collaboration with the Diaspora
Collaborating with the Tunisian diaspora through collaborative networks, such as transnational hackathons, would transform brain drain into an opportunity for cooperation rather than a loss. Developing locally anchored business models, such as AI solutions for irrigation optimization in agriculture, inclusive fintech (e.g., AI-based microcredit), or regional logistics, would strengthen national economic impact.
Career Perspectives for Engineers
Offering evolving career perspectives to engineers, with roles such as AI project leader, is indispensable. Ayari suggested creating a public-private tech fund, guaranteed by the state, to dynamize technological investment, particularly by mobilizing the diaspora.
