Tunisian-American businessman wants to "give back something" to his home country.

TUNIS (TAP) - Dr. Hatem Sellami, an Atlanta businessman originally from Tunisia, had some reservations about setting up an offshore site for his company Predictix back in his home country, primarily because of his concerns about his firm's dependence on English in a country where Arabic is the official language and most people also speak French.

Twenty-six years ago, Dr. Sellami went to Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A., to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology where he earned his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering, and another's master's degree in business administration.

In 2005, Hatem Sellami co-founded Predictix, a software company specialising in retailing solutions.

By 2007, Predictix was taking off and looking for an offshore location, and Tunisia was still under control of the Ben Ali regime.

"Being Tunisian myself, I had some hesitation early on, primarily due to concerns about the English language," Dr. Sellami told American Global Atlanta website. He worried that his American and Tunisian teams might find a potential language barrier difficult.

But Hatem Sellami liked the idea of Tunisia's proximity to Europe, and thought that since most other software companies were choosing to locate offshore in Asian countries, his company would be able to maintain its spirit of being unique.

"I also wanted to give something back to my country of origin, which gave me a good education and paid for most of my education in the U.S.," Dr. Sellami said. Predictix decided to give Tunisia a try and started with four people, and "it worked really well," Dr. Sellami said.

He remains unruffled by the Arab Spring that was launched in Tunisia in late 2010 and has resulted in massive demonstrations and protests throughout the region, as well as the overthrow of rulers of four countries.

And he goes so far as to extol the virtues of the new Tunisian government, saying that since Tunisia's independence an even greater emphasis has been placed on education.

In addition, he is pleased that the U.S. has been offering loans at good rates to attract American investors.

Dr. Sellami is proud to note that Predictix, which offers retailers software that forecasts demand and manages inventory among other solutions, started with five Atlanta employees and has since grown worldwide.

Before going offshore in Tunisia and just two years after the company's launch, Predictix opened a sales office in London. But even with its international growth, Dr. Sellami said that the company makes it a priority to maintain its culture through all of its sites.

"We wanted to create an American-style company in Tunisia by insisting on adopting the American corporate culture," Dr. Sellami said, adding that the best way to achieve this was employing Tunisian graduates straight out of college.

With its presence in Tunisia, Predictix is in the position to capitalise on the growing pool of Tunisian talent, he added.

More than 65,000 Tunisians graduate from college and enter the workforce each year in fields like IT, communication and engineering, and this is just one reason Elizabeth Littlefield, CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corp., says that the country is "ripe with opportunities for investors."

Mrs. Littlefield was promoting a national tour of the U.S. by Tunisia's ambassador to the U.S. Mohamed Salah Tekaya, last February, when she explained that Tunisia is actively looking for foreign direct investment by offering governmental incentives, and boasts 1,300 foreign investors.

But U.S. companies only account for 75 of these, and the country continues working to improve its image and attract more American investors, she said.

Tap 2012

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