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The Algerian entrepreneurial ecosystem is reaching a major milestone with the official creation of the “Scale-up” label (hyper-growth startup), intended for startups demonstrating sustained growth. 

Published in Official Gazette No. 81 through Executive Decree No. 25-311, signed on 1 December 2025 by Prime Minister Saïfi Ghrieb and published on 7 December 2025, this new label represents a logical evolution of the existing labelling framework for Startups, Innovative Projects and Incubators. 

This regulatory text amends and supplements Executive Decree No. 20-254 of 15 September 2020, by expanding the prerogatives of the National Labelling Committee, which now explicitly include the attribution of the Scale-up label. 

Definition and criteria of the “Scale-up” label 

The “Scale-up” label is precisely defined in the decree. It distinguishes any company established under Algerian law whose: 

• the business model is based on innovative products, services or a business model, 

• which records growth of at least 20% in its turnover over the last three years, 

• which allocates at least 3% of its revenues or capital to research and development, 

• and which demonstrates national and international development potential through tangible evidence such as intellectual property, awards or distinctions, or expansion abroad. 

Application procedures and duration of the label 

Interested companies may submit their application via the national startup platform, accessible at www.startup.dz. 

The application file must include a presentation of the product or service, the curricula vitae of the founders, a three-minute growth video, as well as any evidence attesting to distinctions obtained or international expansion. 

The label is granted for a period of four years, renewable subject to the continued fulfilment of performance criteria. 

According to the Minister of the Knowledge Economy, Startups and Micro-enterprises, this label represents a natural extension of the Startup label. It aims to support innovative companies that have demonstrated their ability to generate real growth, while strengthening their access to financing opportunities and international markets. 

This initiative now makes it possible to structure a clear pathway, from Startup to Scale-up, and to support the sustainable development of innovative companies. The first Scale-up labels are thus expected to give rise to a new generation of Algerian champions capable of asserting themselves on regional and international stages and contributing significantly to the country’s economic diversification. 

Revision of renewal conditions for Startup and Incubator labelling 

In parallel with the creation of this new label, the decree substantially revises the conditions applicable to the renewal of startup labelling. Article 14 maintains the duration of the Startup label at four years, renewable only once, while introducing new criteria. Share capital must now be held at least 50% by natural persons, approved investment funds, or other companies holding the Startup label or the Incubator label. Startups applying for renewal must also demonstrate their performance through revenues generated over the last three years, the evolution of the number of clients or users, the record of fundraising operations carried out, as well as the number of registered patents or software. 

With regard to incubators, the text extends the duration of the label to five years, renewable, and conditions its renewal on the presentation of concrete results, in particular the list of incubated projects that have obtained the Innovative Project label, the Startup label and now the Scale-up label. This evolution establishes a structuring continuum in entrepreneurial support and strengthens the coherence of the national innovation support framework. 

Finally, the decree introduces a notable modernization of the operating modalities of the National Labelling Committee. It specifies that any member participating in meetings via videoconference or any other telecommunication means allowing their identification is deemed to be present, reflecting an adaptation to contemporary governance practices.