© International Trade Centre, International Trade Forum
- Issue 1/2007,
Interview with Férid Baklouti, Founder, Xtensus Tunisia
 |
© WNS |
This Tunisian businessman is representative of his country's
effort to position itself in Information and Communications
Technology (ICT).
Q:How did you come to set up
Xtensus Tunisia?
A: I left Tunisia in 1993 to pursue my computer
studies in Canada - Quebec City - to learn about robotics and
computer imaging. In my eight-year stay, I obtained an MBA in
company management and became an Assistant Director of an IT
company. Meanwhile, I kept in touch with friends in Tunisia, so I
was always up-to-date about the efforts being made to encourage IT
here. It seemed to me an obvious business opportunity, so I
persuaded some friends to invest in setting up Xtensus in 2001. We
started with the business of creating web sites. Since then we have
expanded, to e-business portals of all kinds, from company and
government websites to fully e-enabled sites such as one enabling
people to pay online for their test at the driving licence
division.
Q: Who are your customers?
A: Apart from businesses and authorities in
Tunisia, we have clients in Belgium and France as well as
Canada.
Q: How difficult was it to obtain contracts as
a company in Africa?
A: Some companies were hesitant to trust their
business to an African company, and particularly not an IT company
in Africa. They did not believe we had the infrastructure to carry
out the job. We made great efforts to get testimonials from people
who were satisfied with our work. But sometimes we had to work
first through third-parties, such as foreign companies that were
established in Tunisia. In this respect, it has been helpful to be
based in a technopark - we are situated between Tunis and Carthage.
The Companies here could vouch for us and we could exchange
experiences.
At the same time, we have been able to turn our African roots to
our advantage. Tunisia is multi-lingual and multicultural. We have
links with the Mediterranean, with Arab cultures and with the rest
of Africa. In fact, our latest project is an online Arab-African
Business Directory (http://www.2abp.com) making use of
Tunisia's wide variety of contacts across the continent to
introduce these businesses to people in Europe and North
America.
Q: What is the biggest problem you face in
overcoming the prejudices against Africa's image?
A People don't realize how advanced Tunisia is in ICT. The World
Economic Forum has positioned us at No. 1 in Africa for Network
Readiness (government policies, telecommunications, penetration and
use of Internet, etc.). About 50,000 students are studying ICT each
year and the government is now introducing ICT courses into primary
schools. We have 11 technoparks, a network of 20 business incubator
centres and 10 cyber-parks throughout the country. In all, Tunisia
has some 600 computer and engineering companies, employing some
7,000 people. We have also had to show our foreign clients that we
understood their culture in terms of how business is done in Europe
and North America. That was where I could make the best use of my
experience in Canada was very useful.
Interview: Peter Hulm, Trade Forum
contributing editor.