After being absent from the global Startup Ranking in 2020, Algeria has now surged into the top 20 countries with the highest concentration of young tech entrepreneurs. In Africa, the nation ranks second, trailing only Nigeria.
The Algerian government is continuing to bolster digital innovation with new fiscal incentives introduced for 2025, building on a series of measures implemented over the past five years. These include exemptions from transfer duties on property acquisitions for startups and incubators to stimulate industrial activity, as well as a two-year extension of income tax (IRG) and corporate tax exemptions for incubators, contingent on the renewal of their official designation.
The government has also introduced exemptions from registration fees for the incorporation of companies led by holders of the "innovative projects" label. To encourage research and development (R&D), the 2025 Finance Act introduces tax deductions for expenses related to in-house R&D and open innovation programs contracted with startups or incubators.
"This deduction, applicable to the determination of taxable profit, is limited to 30% of the accounting profit, with a maximum cap of 200,000,000 Dinars (€1.4 million). If expenses cover both research and development and open innovation, the deduction cannot exceed this cap," the 2025 Finance Act stipulates.
Since 2020, Algeria has positioned digital innovation as a cornerstone of its economic development strategy. Recognizing its potential to drive job creation and wealth generation, the government established a dedicated ministerial position for the knowledge economy and startups. Subsequently, the national program "Algeria Disrupt" introduced a regulatory framework fostering innovation, including provisions for certifying innovative digital enterprises.
In 2021, the Algerian Startup Fund was launched as a public financing mechanism combining investment and venture capital for high-growth innovation projects. Two years later, in 2023, the Algerian Innovation Fund was created as a collaboration between the public accelerator Algeria-Venture and the international Small Enterprise Assistance Funds (SEAF).
During a meeting between the Government and local government officials on meeting on January 19, 2023, then-Minister Yacine El Mahdi Oualid highlighted Algeria's progress, reporting over 5,000 startups registered with the ministry, including 1,100 certified as “startups” or “innovative projects.” He also noted the expansion of incubators, which grew from 14 in 2020 to 60 by 2023, covering the entire national territory.
By Muriel EDJO,
Editing by Sèna D. B. de Sodji
