Tunisian tech entrepreneur Mondher Ben Ayed moves into agriculture with Wafra Agricole

Mondher Ben Ayed, the Sfax-born engineer who built TMI into one of Tunisia's leading information technology groups, has pivoted to farming, launching a joint venture with Italian entrepreneur Irene Bonassisa to develop a precision-agriculture operation in the north-west of the country.

The company, Wafra Agricole, has already established a 200-hectare pilot farm in the Béja governorate — one of Tunisia's principal cereal-producing zones — where it is testing computerised solar irrigation, reduced water consumption, natural fertilisers and precision-farming techniques supported by international experts, according to La Presse de Tunisie and Agenzia Nova.

The project was unveiled at a recent Italy-Tunisia joint economic forum and has been positioned by both founders as a model of cross-Mediterranean economic cooperation that goes beyond crop production to encompass processing and marketing.

Two careers converge on the land

Ben Ayed holds a doctorate in computer engineering from the University of Rochester and led TMI across projects in more than 24 African countries. The Covid-19 pandemic prompted his move into agri-food: he said he identified food as a sector that had never stopped functioning and decided to apply the value-chain logic he had developed in information technology.

"I am not interested in traditional agriculture, but in agriculture that creates added value," Ben Ayed told Agenzia Nova. "I want to innovate, transform and develop integrated supply chains that generate real wealth and real jobs."

Irene Bonassisa leads the Bonassisa Group, a Puglia-based company founded by her father Domenico Bonassisa that built its reputation in Italy's oil and gas sector, working with Eni, Snam and Saipem. Under her leadership the group turned towards Africa, entering Tunisia roughly a decade ago through work with Eni Tunisia and subsequently expanding into Ethiopia and Libya. It was in Tunisia that she met Ben Ayed.

"I have always considered Tunisia the gateway to Africa, a country close to Italy in mentality and geography," Bonassisa told Agenzia Nova. "We started working in the desert with Eni Tunisia, and since then we have extended our presence."

What Wafra Agricole does differently

At the Béja farm, irrigation is powered by solar energy and managed digitally. Water use is kept below conventional levels. Inputs are natural rather than synthetic. The founders say the ambition extends well beyond the farm gate: Wafra Agricole intends to build an integrated chain from cultivation through to processing and commercialisation of finished products.

A second pillar is human capital. The company is developing training programmes for young people and women in the region, run in partnership with Italian specialist firms. Bonassisa, who also serves as vice-president of the Conseil international des femmes entrepreneures (CIFE Tunisie), said the goal is to equip a new generation of local agricultural technicians. "We want to form young local technicians and create Italian-Tunisian training programmes so that young people can come back and invest in their country of origin," she said.

A wider diplomatic frame

Both founders link Wafra Agricole explicitly to Italy's Mattei Plan for Africa, a strategic framework launched in January 2024 that channels Italian public and private investment across five pillars — education, agriculture, health, energy and water — in 14 African countries including Tunisia. Agriculture has been folded into the strategy as a contribution to food security and rural employment, according to analysts at the Istituto Affari Internazionali.

The company also frames its work within the United Nations Agenda 2030 for sustainable development, with food security, water management and youth employment all cited as underlying objectives.

"We are building an industrial and technological model for agriculture that unites the north and the south of the Mediterranean," Ben Ayed said. "This is not only a commercial activity, but a vision of shared and sustainable development."

The Italian ambassador to Tunisia visited the Wafra Agricole operation in May 2026, according to Agenzia Nova, signalling diplomatic interest in the venture as a concrete expression of bilateral ties.