Google has launched project « Innovation Tunisie » as a cornerstone of its partnership between the company and government ministries. Goole’s head of North Africa, Nord Khaled Koubaa, said the programme aims to design new apps to facilitate the work of various ministries and to bring added-value to society in general, Xinhua reports. Similar projects are underway in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India and Australia. Its three main operators, Tunisie Telecom, Orange and  Ooredoo (QTel) subsidiary Tunisiana launched 3G services in 2010. Reseau Telecom writes that Tunisiana uses Wi-Fi extensively, with dongles capable of supporting 32 simultaneous users.

Google MENA director Wael Fakharani said the ICT sector has been spared by the economic crisis. The Tunisian public sector is plagued by ineffeciency and slowness, according to Nizar Alaya, presidential adviser on innovation, adding that the government must create an environment that incites entrepreneurs to finance and adopt high-tech value-added projects.