What Al Bawsala does

Al Bawsala (البوصلة) is a Tunisian nonprofit civil society organization founded in 2012, headquartered in the Belvédère district of Tunis, that operates as an independent civic watchdog monitoring the country's democratic institutions. The organization runs three programmatic verticals — Democracy and Rule of Law, Human Rights, and Finance and Public Policies (launched 2014) — and delivers three core digital monitoring platforms: Marsad Majles, which tracks the activities, voting records, and attendance of members of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People; Marsad Baladia, which monitors municipal councils and decentralization; and Marsad Budget, which follows the public-finance process through constitutional principles of transparency, separation of powers, and sovereignty. These platforms are freely accessible to the public and complemented by an extensive library of analytical reports on austerity, climate governance, elections, and human rights, as well as a Political Academy that trains young citizens in civic participation. Outputs are distributed through a multilingual (Arabic, French, English) website, social media channels (Facebook, Twitter/X, YouTube), an email newsletter, and public seminars.

Al Bawsala does not generate commercial revenue. Its funding model is recurring grants and donations from international donor organizations — Open Society Foundations, the European Union Delegation to Tunisia, the Ford Foundation, OXFAM, MEPI, AECID, Heinrich Böll Stiftung, the National Endowment for Democracy, Civil Rights Defenders, Avocats Sans Frontières, the European Endowment for Democracy, Expertise France, EuroMed Rights, UNESCO, Deutsche Welle Akademie, the International Budget Partnership, and (as of May 2026) the United Nations Democracy Fund. Annual grant inflows have ranged from roughly USD 149K (2013) to USD 1.528M (2022), with a multi-year trailing average of approximately USD 500K–$625K. The primary audiences are Tunisian citizens, civil society organizations, media, and policymakers; downstream institutional users include international organizations, diplomatic missions, and development partners engaged in Tunisia's democratic and economic reform agenda. The organization publishes annual audit reports demonstrating financial transparency and has no parent company, equity ownership, or commercial subsidiaries.

Name

Al Bawsala

Legal name

Al Bawsala

Website

https://albawsala.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Al Bawsala is a Tunisian nonprofit civil society organization founded in 2012 that operates three digital civic monitoring platforms — Marsad Majles (parliamentary), Marsad Baladia (municipal), and Marsad Budget (public finance) — and serves Tunisian citizens, civil society, media, and international donors with free accountability reporting and civic training.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic Monitoring and Transparency Advocacy

NAICS

Administration of Urban Planning and Community and Rural Development (925120), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (924)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Rights Monitoring, Documentation & Advocacy (BPADAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

ESG/Sustainability Reporting & Disclosure Platforms (EUABAEAB), Government Accounting & Financial Reporting (BPAIAEAD)

Keywords

• Civil society monitoring
• Parliamentary transparency
• Public budget monitoring
• Municipal accountability
• Civic engagement

Headquarters

HQ city

Belvédère

HQ country

Tunisia

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. International Donor Funding: Al Bawsala is primarily funded through grants and donations from international organizations, foundations, and foreign governments. Major funders include Open Society Foundations, European Union Delegation to Tunisia, Ford Foundation, MEPI (U.S. State Department), OXFAM, AECID (Spain), Heinrich Böll Stiftung, National Endowment for Democracy, Civil Rights Defenders, Avocats Sans Frontières, European Endowment for Democracy, Expertise France, EuroMed Rights, UNESCO, Deutsche Welle Akademie, International Budget Partnership, and others. The organization publishes annual audit reports demonstrating financial transparency.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Al Bawsala is a Tunisian civil society organization that monitors parliamentary, municipal, and public budget processes through digital platforms and published research. It operates three core monitoring tools — Marsad Majles, Marsad Baladia, and Marsad Budget — and publishes analytical reports on democracy, human rights, climate governance, and public finance to promote transparency and civic participation in Tunisia.

Product overview

Al Bawsala (البوصلة) is a Tunisian militant civil society organization that serves as a democracy monitoring and civic engagement platform. The organization operates three interconnected core monitoring tools: Marsad Majles for parliamentary monitoring, Marsad Baladia for municipal monitoring, and Marsad Budget for public budget monitoring. These are complemented by research publications and analytical reports covering democracy, human rights, and public policies, as well as a Political Academy for civic education. The organization does not operate as a technology product company but rather as an advocacy and monitoring NGO.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Marsad Majles (Parliament Monitor) A digital monitoring tool that tracks the activities, voting records, and attendance of members of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People (ARP), promoting transparency and accountability in parliamentary work in Tunisia.
• Marsad Baladia (Municipal Monitor) A citizen engagement platform that monitors municipal activities and promotes accountability of local governments, supporting decentralization and civic participation at the municipal level in Tunisia.
• Marsad Budget (Budget Monitor) A tool for monitoring public budget processes through the lens of constitutional principles of transparency, separation of powers, and sovereignty in Tunisia.
• Publications and Analytical Reports Research publications, analytical reports, and policy studies covering democracy, rule of law, human rights, public finance, climate governance, austerity, and socio-economic policies in Tunisia.
• Political Academy (الأكاديمية السياسية) A training program designed to build the capacities of young citizens in political participation, democratic governance, and civic engagement in Tunisia.

Quantifiable outcome

• Published comprehensive reports on austerity and budget policy impacts, climate governance, human rights violations, and local governance in Tunisia.
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• International Budget Partnership: Global organization promoting transparent and accountable public budgeting, and an active funder of Al Bawsala (TND 99,696 in 2016 for Marsad Budget). Directly comparable to Al Bawsala's budget-monitoring work.
• Inkyfada: Tunisian investigative journalism platform producing long-form reporting on governance, rights, and public policy. Operates in the same accountability-journalism space as Al Bawsala within Tunisia.
• ParlamentWatch GmbH: German parliamentary monitoring organization and an early funder of Al Bawsala (TND 122,409 grant in 2012). Directly comparable as a parliamentary civic-monitoring peer in another jurisdiction.
• I-Watch (Ldquid): Leading Tunisian civil society watchdog that monitors public service delivery, anti-corruption, and government accountability. Directly comparable to Al Bawsala in mission, geography, and donor ecosystem.
• Nawaat: Tunisian independent collective blog and digital media outlet covering politics, civic rights, and government accountability. Shares Al Bawsala's trilingual digital-first civic engagement model in Tunisia.
• Arab Reform Initiative: Paris-based independent Arab think tank producing policy research on democratic reform, economic policy, and social justice. A direct partner/funder of Al Bawsala ($87,500 grant in 2025) operating in the same MENA policy-research space.
• Mourakiboun: Tunisian non-partisan election observation coalition founded in 2011, focused on monitoring elections and political processes in Tunisia. Highly comparable civic monitoring mandate in the same Tunisian operating environment.

Broad incumbents

• Transparency International: Global anti-corruption organization with national chapters, including Tunisia. Operates in overlapping transparency and accountability space, though at a much larger international scale.
• CIVICUS: Global alliance of civil society organizations monitoring civic space and democratic freedoms worldwide. Operates adjacent thematic space to Al Bawsala's human rights monitoring work.

Emerging players

• Access Info Europe: European NGO promoting right-to-information laws and government transparency. Operates adjacent accountability-journalism and civic-monitoring space with comparable outputs to Al Bawsala's Marsad Budget work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/albawsalatn
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCvDYgy_sIH8JzjMn4na-O6Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/albawsala
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/albawsala

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Al Bawsala