In November 2025, Algeria’s push to position itself as a regional trade gateway took a visible step forward when twenty Togolese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) set up temporary booths at the Algiers International Fairground. Brought under the banner of the African Trade Fair, the delegation included makers of shea butter cosmetics, cashew nut processors and solar-component assemblers. Algerian importers from Blida, Oran and Annaba spent three days negotiating supply deals with prices quoted in dinars and CFA, underscoring the practical currency options now available to cross-border buyers in the ECOWAS zone.
“These visits are not tourism,” said Abdelkader Benmessaoud, president of the Algerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, to APS this week. “Each Togolese SME that leaves Algiers with a letter of intent represents a new export market for local manufacturers and a new supplier for Algerian distributors.” Since 2024, the Bourse d’Alger has been hosting weekly “African SME Connect” sessions where Algerian founders can meet counterparts from Benin, Niger and Côte d’Ivoire under the same roof.
The initiative reflects deliberate policy choices by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s government to diversify the economy away from hydrocarbons. In 2022, hydrocarbons still accounted for 90 % of export earnings, yet the government set a target to lift the share of non-oil exports to 12 % by 2027. SMEs are expected to contribute at least 30 % of that increase, according to a study published by the Ministry of Industry and Pharmaceutical Production in March 2025.
Mustapha Ferfera, director of the Bourse d’Alger, confirmed in a January 2023 interview with Oxford Business Group that the stock exchange is preparing a dedicated SME board by early 2026. “We are seeing growing interest from diaspora Algerians who want to channel savings into productive sectors rather than real estate,” he said. The exchange plans to list 50 companies within the first year, with a minimum market capitalisation of 500 million dinars (about 3.6 million euros) to ensure liquidity.
Ferfera’s remarks echo a pattern detected by the World Bank in its 2025 Enterprise Survey for Algeria. The survey shows that 33 % of Algerian SMEs with annual revenues above 50 million dinars are now majority-owned by diaspora investors, up from 22 % in 2020. The most active communities are in France, Canada and Germany, where networks like the Algerian Business Club Paris facilitate introductions to local banks and industrial zones.
One Algerian founder who has already benefited is Amina Khelil, who runs a 42-employee plastics-recycling plant in Rouiba. After securing a 200 million dinar loan from Banque de Développement Local in 2024, she supplied 150 000 reusable shopping bags to a retail chain in Lomé during the Togolese delegation’s visit. “The paperwork took eight weeks instead of the usual twelve,” Khelil said, attributing the speed to a new online portal introduced by the Ministry of Trade. The portal consolidates customs, tax and foreign-exchange approvals into one workflow.
Her experience highlights a broader shift: the government has raised the ceiling for duty-free imports of industrial equipment used by SMEs from 15 million dinars to 50 million dinars. In July 2025, the Ministry of Industry also extended the zero-VAT regime on locally manufactured solar panels to include batteries and inverters, a move aimed at lowering the cost of off-grid solutions for rural SMEs.
Land remains a bottleneck for expansion. Cherif Rahmani, former minister of Land Management, told The Worldfolio in 2022 that 60 % of industrial-zone plots in Sétif and Constantine remain paper-bound, delaying construction permits. To address this, the government launched a blockchain-based land registry pilot in 2024 covering 1 200 hectares in Béjaïa. The system cut the average registration time from 210 days to 35 days, according to the Ministry of Digital Economy.
For diaspora investors, the returns can be compelling. A case in point is Sofiane Belkacem, who repatriated 500 000 euros from France to modernise a 1970s-era canning factory in Mostaganem. By switching to tin-free steel cans and installing solar panels, he reduced energy costs by 28 % and raised annual output from 12 million units to 18 million. Belkacem accessed a 300 million dinar soft loan from Crédit Populaire d’Algérie under the “Diaspora Entrepreneurs” window.
Key takeaway for entrepreneurs: Algeria’s new trade fairs and diaspora-friendly financing are lowering barriers to regional expansion. Diaspora investors should explore the Bourse d’Alger’s forthcoming SME board and the zero-VAT regime for green-tech imports while factoring in faster land-registry processing in the Béjaïa pilot zone.
💡 Starting a business in Algeria? GlobalStart guides you step by step: procedures, real costs, company forms (SARL, EURL, SPA) and CNRC registration.