ESA seeks to encourage innovation, business development on Praslin |07 September 2019

More than 20 Praslinois entrepreneurs and secondary school students recently joined the Enterprise Seychelles Agency in an entrepreneurship retreat aimed at raising awareness on the importance of properly nurturing a business idea, innovation and good leadership skills for a business to prosper.

A very enthusiastic group joined the Enterprise Seychelles Agency (Esa) for the day as they took part in the activities at the Oasis Hotel at Grand Anse.

Esa organised the retreat on Praslin as part of activities to mark Entrepreneurship Week commemorated worldwide on August 21 each year. The activity on Praslin comprised a series of interactive presentations followed by discussions, questions and clarifications on a wide range of issues related to entrepreneurship and business development and other related matters.

Business development consultant Peter Rosalie shared ‘The Psychology of Idea Market’, specifically urging those present to believe in their business ideas and doing their utmost to develop them into blooming enterprises.

As for lecturer Nella Belmont, she briefed the audience about the importance of time management while providing practical tips adaptable for entrepreneurs specifically.

‘Business Idea Generation’ was presented by Nigel Payet who displayed a few of his own creative ideas to showcase how simple things can be turned into great business ideas. Young entrepreneur Nadia Bedier discussed ‘Business Leadership’ from her perspective as a debutant entrepreneur and in conclusion Trevor Matombé, a Praslin secondary school student, spoke on behalf of all students present to highlight their understanding of entrepreneurship and the ease of doing business in their point of view.

Esa chief executive Angelic Appoo welcomed those present and thanked them for their valuable contributions towards the country’s economy.

“As we celebrate World Entrepreneurs’ Day, Esa’s aim is to raise awareness and promote the existence of our much devoted and talented entrepreneurs in Seychelles. At Esa we value each and every one of our micro, small and medium enterprises as they are the backbone of the economy as they comprise 90% of businesses in the country. World Entrepreneurs’ Day is the day for founders, managers, producers, contractors, industrialists, innovators, administrators, designers and producers to be recognised and valued,” Ms Appoo remarked.

Prominent entrepreneur Robert Payet, owner of Le Duc de Praslin Hotel, shared his journey to becoming a well-established and successful entrepreneur who started from scratch to build his business. Mr Payet particularly emphasised on the importance of hard work, perseverance and discipline while encouraging the secondary students present to work towards their dreams. To the entrepreneurs, he highlighted the importance of taking calculated risks for business growth.

On his part, member of National Assembly for Baie Ste Anne, Churchill Gill encouraged the delegates to seize opportunities provided by Esa to improve themselves and their enterprises.

“Esa is a gateway of opportunities to achieve success. It is thus of paramount importance that you engage with Esa to assist you in developing and marketing your products. Stay engaged to grow from small to medium and further promote your products, so that you can benefit with Esa’s facilities, schemes and innovation to accelerate development and guarantee growth,” Mr Gill stated.

Delegates could also exchange ideas and share knowledge on how to be more successful in a networking afternoon which followed a live cooking show by local chefs.

The accompanying photos show some of the presenters and guests.

Text and photos: Romano Laurence