What Novation City does

Novation City is a Tunisia-based innovation ecosystem operator established in 2009 as a private-law company under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. It develops and manages three co-located zones—Mechatronic City (55 ha in Sousse, focused on R&D and mechatronics), Business City (48 ha in Sousse, targeting offshoring and services), and Industrial City (142 ha in Enfidha, a fourth-generation industrial park)—creating an integrated land-to-lab-to-market continuum spanning more than 245 hectares. The company serves international industrial firms, services and BPO operators, technology startups, and research institutions, offering fully serviced land plots (2,500–120,000 m²), modular workspaces (250–5,000 m²), the Guichet Unique single-window administrative service, and shared R&D infrastructure anchored by the ENISO engineering school, the CRNM nanotechnology research center, and the SOFTTECH incubator.

Underlying infrastructure includes fiber-to-the-building connectivity delivered by telecom partner Ooredoo, autonomous electric shuttles, photovoltaic-powered public lighting, and intelligent building management with centralized surveillance (GTC) and smart-factory capabilities aligned with Industry 4.0. Revenue is generated through a hybrid real-estate and services model: one-time sales of industrial land, recurring leases of commercial plots and modular workspaces, professional services for company setup, and ancillary lifestyle services (conference facilities, catering, sports, childcare, internal transport). Pricing is quote-based and negotiated through the single-window service.

In September 2024 Novation City launched the GAICA AI Innovation Hub in partnership with NVIDIA (providing DGX systems and DLI courses), the French Development Agency (AFD), GIZ, the World Bank, the European Union and the Tunisian government, repositioning the cluster as a regional anchor for AI and deep-tech across Africa and introducing a new AI-training and startup-support vertical to the existing industrial and services mix.

Name

Novation City

Legal name

Novation City

Website

https://novationcity.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Novation City is a Tunisian innovation ecosystem operator running three co-located zones — Mechatronic, Business and Industrial City — that supply serviced land, workspaces and R&D infrastructure to international manufacturers, services firms and tech startups across 245+ hectares.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial and Business Park Development

NAICS

Computer Systems Design Services (541512)

SIC

Land Subdividers & Developers (No Cemeteries) (6552), Services-Equipment Rental & Leasing, Nec (7359), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Smart Cities & Urban Innovation Programs (Digital Planning, Civic Tech for Cities) (BPAIANAJ)

Keywords

• Industrial real estate
• Business park development
• Economic zone services
• Technology park management
• Investment facilitation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Hammam Sousse

HQ country

Tunisia

HQ region

Africa

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Industrial Land Sales: Sale of fully serviced industrial land plots ranging from 2,500 m² to 120,000 m² in the Industrial City at Enfidha. Investors purchase titled land parcels within a fully urbanized, secured industrial park with utilities (fiber, energy, water, gas, sanitation).
2. Commercial Land Lease: Long-term lease of commercial and business land plots for construction of buildings (R+4 to R+10) in Business City, providing recurring lease income.
3. Workspace and Facility Rental: Rental of modular tech platforms (250 m² to 5,000 m²), relay workshops (1,000 m² to 2,500 m² in R+1 and R+2 configurations), and internationally classed buildings across Mechatronic City and Business City. Revenue is recurring through lease agreements.
4. Professional and Administrative Services: Single-window ('Guichet Unique') administrative services for company creation and business setup, facility and property management services, and business support services including legal, accounting, and recruitment assistance through partner experts.
5. Life in the City Services: Ancillary services including conference and meeting room rentals, catering and banquet facilities, sports and recreation (gym, spa, swimming pool, sports courts), childcare/crèche, and internal transport — all generating supplementary recurring revenue from resident businesses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Novation City develops and manages a tri-zoned innovation ecosystem in Tunisia—Industrial City, Business City, and Mechatronic City—selling fully serviced industrial land plots (2,500–120,000 m²) and leasing commercial land and modular workspaces (250–5,000 m²) to manufacturers, services companies, and technology firms. The company also delivers Guichet Unique single-window administrative services, facility and property management, innovation acceleration, and operates an AI Innovation Hub equipped with NVIDIA DGX systems, generating revenue from land sales, recurring leases and rentals, and professional service fees.

Product overview

Novation City is a competitiveness pole in Sousse, Tunisia that operates as an innovation ecosystem consisting of three complementary zones: Mechatronic City for developing prototypes and intelligent solutions, Business City for commercialization and service activities, and Industrial City for manufacturing and factory operations. The ecosystem offers integrated services including enterprise creation support, facility management, innovation acceleration, and technology resource access, supported by infrastructure including fiber optic telecommunications, smart buildings, and life amenities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Novation Industrial City A 142-hectare fourth-generation multi-sector industrial park in Enfidha offering fully serviced titled land plots from 2,500 to 120,000 m² for international industrial and services companies establishing manufacturing or production operations.
• Novation Business City Tunisia's first intelligent services park spanning 48 hectares in Sousse, offering long-term commercial land leases (R+4 to R+10 buildings) with fiber-to-the-building connectivity for offshoring, BPO, call centers, data centers, telecom, banking, and international commerce firms.
• Novation Mechatronic City A 55-hectare technology activity park in Sousse specializing in mechatronics, R&D, and innovation, offering rentals of modular tech platforms (250–5,000 m²) and relay workshops (1,000–2,500 m²) with co-located ENISO engineering school, CRNM nanotechnology and microelectronics research center, and SOFTTECH incubator.
• Guichet Unique (One-Stop Shop) Investor Services Single-window administrative service for investors providing guided company creation, legal consultation through partner experts (accountants, lawyers, recruitment firms), economic information, and administrative process simplification for businesses establishing operations inside Novation City.
• Facility and Property Management Services Integrated facility management covering building operation, maintenance, and full operational support throughout the facility lifecycle for companies implanted in Novation City's Industrial, Business, and Mechatronic zones.
• Innovation Support Services Open innovation platform services helping clients conceptualize ideas, create new products, protect inventions through patents, access financing and technological resources, and bring innovations to market within the Novation City ecosystem.
• Real Estate Rental Services (Modular Workshops and Tech Platforms) Flexible, modular, turnkey real estate offerings including relay workshop rentals (1,000–2,500 m² in R+1 and R+2 configurations) for prototyping and light manufacturing, and technological platform rentals (250–5,000 m²) for R&D and technology companies across Mechatronic and Business Cities.
• AI Innovation Hub An AI innovation facility within Novation City providing access to NVIDIA DGX systems, Deep Learning Institute (DLI) training courses, and technical expertise to support AI development, training, and entrepreneurship for startups, developers, and researchers across Tunisia and Africa.

Quantifiable outcome

• Creation of approximately 15,000 jobs planned across Business City
• +3 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• NVIDIAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 September 2024NVIDIA partnered with Novation City's GAICA AI Innovation Hub, providing NVIDIA DGX systems, DLI (Deep Learning Institute) courses, and technical expertise. The partnership aims to accelerate AI development, training, and entrepreneurship in Tunisia and across Africa, supporting the national AI strategy.
• Tunisian GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 September 2024The Tunisian government, through its national AI strategy, is a core strategic partner in the GAICA initiative at Novation City, providing policy support, regulatory backing, and institutional alignment for the AI innovation hub's mission of digital sovereignty.
• OoredoocoreTechnology or IntegrationOoredoo is the exclusive telecom infrastructure partner for Novation City, providing fiber-to-the-building connectivity and a full suite of SLA-backed telecom services including internet access, national and international dedicated lines, site-to-site VPN, cloud solutions, and VoIP. Ooredoo offers preferential pricing to Novation City residents.
• International ClusterssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerNovation City is affiliated with multiple international clusters (shown in its partner logos), which facilitate cross-border knowledge exchange, best practice sharing, and investor referrals between Novation City and similar innovation hubs globally.
• ENISO (National Engineering School of Sousse)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerENISO (École Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Sousse) is co-located within Mechatronic City as the anchor academic institution, providing a pipeline of engineering graduates and enabling industry-academia collaboration in mechatronics, informatics, and electronics.
• CRNM (Centre de Recherche en Nanotechnologie et Microélectronique)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCRNM (Research Center for Nanotechnology and Microelectronics) is located within Mechatronic City, conducting advanced research in nanotech and microelectronics with direct pathways to commercial application through the Novation City ecosystem.
• SOFTTECH Business IncubatorsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSOFTTECH is the technology business incubator housed within Mechatronic City, supporting early-stage startups in mechatronics and related fields with mentorship, infrastructure, and access to the broader Novation City innovation network.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC): Saudi Arabian mega-project industrial city with seaport, industrial valley, and planned residential zones. Comparable as an emerging large-footprint industrial/tech zone developer with multi-modal logistics infrastructure, but anchored in a wealthier Gulf market.
• Konza Technopolis (Kenya): Kenya's flagship technology city under PPP development with government, World Bank, and private backing. Comparable as an emerging African innovation hub competing for the same continental AI/digital narrative, though still in earlier buildout stages.

Broad incumbents

• Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA): One of the world's largest free zones, offering industrial land, warehouses, and offices with multi-modal port and airport access. Comparable as an incumbent free-zone operator with deep international tenant rosters, but at much larger scale and in a more mature ecosystem.
• Dubai Internet City: One of the largest technology free zones globally, hosting thousands of multinational tech tenants. Comparable as a broader incumbent free-zone operator with strong institutional backing and global brand recognition, but operating at vastly larger scale and serving a more mature tenant base.

Others

• Sofia Tech Park: Bulgarian technology park and innovation hub combining R&D labs, incubator space, and university-linked facilities. Comparable as a PPP-style innovation ecosystem operator with academic integration and EU funding linkages, though at much smaller scale and different geographic context.

Regional players

• Cyberjaya (Malaysia): Malaysian MSC-status technology park offering serviced land, intelligent buildings, and innovation ecosystem services to multinational tech tenants. Comparable as a regional government-backed technology city with academic and R&D anchors, but serving the Southeast Asian market.
• Smart Village Egypt (SVG): Egyptian business and technology park operated as a free zone near Cairo, hosting multinational tech, telecom, and BPO tenants. Comparable as a regional PPP technology park competing for offshoring tenants, but located in a different North African market.

Direct peers

• Casablanca Technopark: Morocco's leading technology and startup park operated under a public-private model, hosting ICT, offshoring, and innovation tenants. Directly comparable as a North African PPP technopark targeting tech startups, service companies, and innovation ecosystems with university and incubator linkages.
• Tanger Med Zones (TMZ): Morocco's flagship industrial and free-zone developer adjacent to the Tanger Med deep-water port. Directly comparable as a North African industrial park developer competing for the same European manufacturing offshoring demand, with a similar PPP-style model and multi-modal logistics positioning.
• Technopolis Nouaceur: Moroccan technology park near Casablanca offering serviced plots and turnkey facilities to industrial and service tenants. Comparable PPP-style real estate developer targeting international investors, with similar fiber-connected intelligent buildings and a focus on offshoring/BPO tenants.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/novationcity
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC3OKwwtsAaZZnfi0v7mMm9Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/novationcity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/novationcity

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Novation City