Towards an Industry 4.0 in Tunisia: Competence Centers and Fraunhofer IPA
Industry 4.0 is a new topic in Tunisia. Training and awareness-raising are therefore important before companies can be supported. In collaboration with Fraunhofer IPA (Institute for Production Engineering and Automation), two Industry 4.0 competence centres have been set up in already existing Technoparks in Sousse and Sfax. They offer advice, training and a range of support services for start-ups and companies working on the transition to Industry 4.0. The training offer is aimed at public officials, sectoral centres, companies and start-ups and is available both on-site and online.
The services offered include diagnostic tools, readiness checks, technological orientationas well as demonstration of valuable technologies. There is also the “Industry 4.0 Readiness Check”, which provides a detailed report on the digital maturity level of companies. In addition, the competence centres connect different stakeholders: From interested manufacturers and suppliers to integrators of technology solutions and technology start-ups, research and development centres.
As part of the Special Initiative ‘Decent Jobs for a Just Transition’ of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Digital Transformation Center in Tunisia aims to create jobs in the digital and technical sector.
The Tunisian industry is a major economic factor, accounting for almost a quarter of the country’s gross domestic product. In order to secure and provide employment within the Tunisian industry, the Digital Transformation Center supports with its partner, the Ministry for Industry, Mines and Energy, the transformation and modernisation of Tunisia´s industry under the initiative “Towards an industry 4.0 in Tunisia”.
As of now 141 Tunisien companies were supported in implementing Industry 4.0 solutions in their production sites. They can prodcue more efficiently and report and increase in order volumes due to increased global comptetiveness. On the one hand, this leads to the crceation of further employment and on the other to the improvement of working conditions.
A success factor of the project was the combination of specific expertise, customisation to the context and precise knowledge of the target groups. As sustainability plays a major role for the GIZ project, the Tunisian experts were offered numerous services – including several trainings, manuals, demonstrators, visits and field trips to ensure their engagement and capacity to train and manage the project.