The World Bank has approved a $120 million loan for Tunisia to support access to finance for Tunisian small and medium enterprises, the bank said in statement.

The project aims to address the primary long-term liquidity constraints faced by Tunisian firms by financing long-term lines of credit that will be on-lent by the Ministry of Finance to participating financial institutions.

"The COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have caused macroeconomic imbalances in Tunisia, which have exacerbated challenges faced by SMEs and weakened their performance and financial health," said Alexandre Arrobbio, World Bank Country Manager for Tunisia.