VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTU #0023/01 0141615
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 141615Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY TUNIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7140
INFO RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC

UNCLAS TUNIS 000023 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EEB/IFD/OMA, EEB/EPPD, AND NEA/MAG 
USDOC FOR ITA/MAC/ONE (MASON) 
CASABLANCA FOR FCS (KITSON) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN EINV ETRD TS
SUBJECT: ONE U.S. COMPANY'S INVESTMENT SHEDS LIGHT ON 
MAGHREB INVESTMENT CLIMATE 
 
Sensitive but unclassified; please protect accordingly. 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (SBU) Vistaprint, an American graphic design and printing 
company, inaugurated its offices in Tunis on January 13.  Its 
investment is a textbook example of the kind of investment 
the GOT is seeking to target: a value-added, job-creating 
enterprise which can transfer technology and know-how to 
Tunisia.  In attendance were senior Tunisian investment 
officials and the Ambassador.  The company, with presence in 
North America, Europe, and Latin America, chose to invest in 
Tunisia after a detailed study of investment climates in 
Morocco and Tunisia.  Ultimately, it chose Tunis as its 
platform to provide customer support and remote graphic 
design consulting services because Tunisia offered a more 
educated and cheaper labor pool with a broader skill base. 
Vistaprint's CEO and founder, Robert Keane, also noted there 
was less competition with other large employers in Tunisia 
for the available talent pool.  End summary. 
 
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GOT Helpful on Investment 
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¶2. (SBU) Present at the January 13 opening were the head of 
the Government of Tunisia's Foreign Investment Promotion 
Agency (FIPA), Monghia Khemiri, Director General of Foreign 
Investment at the Ministry of Development and International 
Cooperation, Noureddine Zekri, and the Ambassador. 
Vistaprint's executives enthusiastically lauded FIPA for 
providing assistance in securing a lease on the property and 
providing guidance on a host of issues from the initial days 
of the project. 
 
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Vistaprint's Investment 
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¶3. (SBU) Vistaprint is a web-based printing and graphic 
design service specializing in "mass customization."  Their 
business model is to deliver custom-designed, low-cost 
printed products, even in small quantities.  Most of their 
customers are individuals or small businesses, totaling over 
one million worldwide.  The company's sales grew 30 percent 
last year, and according to Radwen Tekaya, Vistaprint's 
General Manager in Tunisia, the same is expected for 2010. 
With 1,600 employees worldwide and sales in 120 countries, 
Vistaprint conducts business in French, Italian, Spanish and 
English. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Vistaprint's initial investment in Tunisia was 1 
million TND (approximately $770,000) with a view to employ up 
to 65 people by the end of 2010 and then expand to over 100 
employees.  Its Tunisia office will provide customer and 
graphic design support for Europe only, with a view to enter 
the Tunisian printing services market in the future.  A major 
part of the decision to invest in Tunisia, according to 
Keane, was the talented, multilingual labor pool.  Since the 
Tunisia office will be providing support to the European 
market, employees have to be fluent in French and at least 
one other language (Spanish or Italian) and speak some 
English.  During the visit, the Ambassador and Econoff 
attended an in-progress training session, and most of the new 
trainees identified themselves as recent college graduates. 
(Note:  this is the sector of Tunisian society with the 
highest unemployment rate.  End note.) 
 
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Tunisia versus Morocco 
---------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) According to Keane, Vistaprint had looked closely at 
both Morocco and Tunisia before making the decision to 
invest.  It ultimately chose Tunisia because there was a 
wider pool of talent from which to hire, the cost of the 
talent was marginally lower, and because Vistaprint would 
enjoy less competition from other multinationals looking to 
hire from the same talent pool.  Keane said the 
infrastructure in Tunisia was good, and he had received a 
warm welcome from the government upon his decision to invest. 
 
 
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Comment 
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¶6. (SBU) Vistaprint is a small example of a company which, 
like many other investors, has weighed the investment climate 
in Tunisia against others in the Maghreb.  It sees Tunisia as 
low-cost, high-talent platform to serve the European market. 
Additionally, the GOT has welcomed this investment with open 
arms, as Vistaprint targets the exact unemployed demographic 
the GOT is most worried about: recent college graduates. 
Vistaprint's investment is a textbook example of the kind of 
investment the GOT is trying to target: a value-added, 
job-creating enterprise which can transfer technology and 
know-how to Tunisia.  End Comment. 
GRAY