[File Image] A man counts Algerian Dinar banknotes in Algiers.
For decades Algeria had used its high energy revenues to run a top-down economy in which private or foreign investment was difficult, large sectors were reserved for the state, and entrepreneurs were stifled by bureaucracy. “We are still suffering from a heavy bureaucracy, very often corrupt bureaucracy. This is still reality,” said Mohammed, an entrepreneur who has waited three years along with a foreign partner for approval to start a factory making fridges.
A previous reform effort under the last president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who emerged from a 1990s civil war that killed hundreds of thousands, ended in public fury over corruption, another factor in the 2019 mass protests. “The first steps are visible. Free zones are going to be set up, customs code has been changed to make it more attractive for foreign investment, we have a new investment code,” Agli said.
Meanwhile, non-oil exports, including cement, medicines, pipelines, turbine parts and refined sugar, are set to reach a record $7 billion this year, albeit with considerable state assistance to private exporters including through financing some transport costs.