Best apps to build in Tunisia: the complete guide

In Tunisia, many everyday tasks already go through the smartphone: ordering, booking, learning, looking for housing, selling online. The apps that take hold are often those that solve a concrete problem, simply, in the user’s language.

This guide presents the families of apps worth studying, the points specific to the Tunisian market and the method to build a useful first version while working remotely with a development team.

01What to consider in Tunisia

Before choosing an idea, a few realities on the ground shape the design. They should be confirmed with your future users.

• French and Arabic: many users switch from one language to the other. A bilingual interface, with Arabic displayed right to left, often widens the audience.
• Mobile first: usage generally goes through the smartphone, often on Android. The app must stay light and reliable on an average connection.
• Trust: customer reviews, reachable support and clear rules when something goes wrong reassure the first users.
• Social networks: they often serve as a showcase and an acquisition channel, so the app should be easy to share.

02Five families of apps to build

Each idea below answers a common need. For each one, the decisive question stays the same: who pays, and for which service?

1. 01
   Delivery and local commerce. Restaurants, grocery stores and neighbourhood shops sell through an app, and a network of couriers handles the trips. Revenue comes from commissions or delivery fees. The food delivery app guide details the profiles and the back office.
2. 02
   Booking and services. Beauty salons, sports pitches, guesthouses, excursions or home repairs: the user picks a slot and confirms. See the guides on a travel booking app and an on-demand services app.
3. 03
   E-learning and tutoring. Language courses, exam preparation or vocational training, with videos, exercises and progress tracking. Revenue comes from subscriptions or course purchases. The e-learning platform guide details how it works.
4. 04
   Real estate. Listings for rent and sale, filters by neighbourhood and budget, visit requests and a space for agencies, which generally pay for visibility. The model is close to that of a real estate app in Qatar, adapted to the local market.
5. 05
   Logistics for merchants. Online sellers often manage their orders by hand. An app brings together orders, preparation, handover to the courier and cash collection. The logistics app guide details the flows.

03Payment: local gateway and cash on delivery

Online payment goes through an approved local payment gateway, whose integration terms should be checked with your bank. Cash on delivery often remains widely used, and planning both modes from the design stage avoids rebuilding the checkout later. In practice, the system must handle:

• online payments that succeed, fail or remain pending;
• the cash collected by each courier, reconciled with delivered orders;
• orders refused at the door and returns, which must not throw off the cash balance;
• refunds, whatever the payment method.

04Working remotely with Codex

Codex has no office in Tunisia. The team works with Tunisian clients remotely, from Algiers, Doha and Marseille, and Algiers is in the same time zone as Tunis.

• scoping workshops are held by video call, in French or Arabic;
• each sprint ends with a demo that you test on your own phone;
• a shared space holds mock-ups, decisions and task tracking;
• store accounts, hosting and code are created in your name from the start.

On your side, this way of working mainly requires one available contact person to answer questions, approve screens and test each demo.

05How to choose your idea

A good idea is checked before it is built. A few questions help decide:

• is the problem frequent, and do users really feel it?
• who pays: the user, the merchant, the agency or an advertiser?
• can you gather the supply from the start: restaurants, providers, teachers, agencies?
• can the idea start in a single city before expanding?

06A useful first version, then improvements

The first version must prove that the idea works, not cover everything. It generally contains:

• one complete main journey: ordering, booking, learning or listing;
• the interface in French and Arabic;
• cash on delivery and, where possible, the online gateway;
• a back office to follow activity.

Then, based on feedback: an iOS version, a loyalty programme, finer statistics or new cities.

07Mistakes to avoid

• copying a foreign app without adapting it to local habits;
• launching before gathering the supply: restaurants, providers or listings;
• forgetting Arabic, or treating it as a simple translation;
• neglecting the tracking of cash collected on delivery;
• publishing the app on a store account that is not in your name.

08What changes the budget

The cost depends on the scope, not on a standard rate. The main factors:

• the number of profiles: customer, merchant, courier, administrator;
• the languages and writing directions to support;
• the payment gateway integration and cash tracking;
• the target platforms: Android only, Android and iOS, web back office;
• connections to other services: maps, text messages, delivery companies.

Codex sends a detailed quote after the scoping workshop. To prepare it, read how to write a project brief.

09The steps with Codex

1. 01
   Discovery. A video workshop to understand your idea, your audience and your revenue model. You leave with a clear scope, a schedule and a detailed quote.
2. 02
   Design. Journeys, screens in French and Arabic, back office and architecture. You approve every screen before development.
3. 03
   Development. Short sprints with a remote demo at each step, tested on your own devices.
4. 04
   Launch and support. Publication on the stores in your name, online training for your team, then maintenance and new features.

Read next: development agencies in Tunisia, a comparison of ten mobile apps and the Codex mobile development service.

10Building it with Codex

Codex is a software studio founded in Algiers in 2014. More than 15 engineers and designers build products in French, Arabic and English, and the team has built more than 20 products in-house. The source code, the accounts and the data stay in your name. See the published projects and the certificates of completion.

No office is added locally. The work starts from Algiers (Cité 440 Logements, Ain Malha, Djasr Kasentina), Doha (Building No. 157, Street No. 301, Zone 69, PO Box 8388) and Marseille (Rue de la République, 13002).