Message of Vice-President Vincent Meriton on the occasion of Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), November 18 – 22, 2019. |23 November 2019

Vice-President Meriton

‘Do not give up in the face of challenges’

“Be bold and confident enough to go after your ideas, have the passion to dare to dream and the tenacity not to give up in the face of challenges.”

This is the message of Vice-President Vincent Meriton to future entrepreneurs on the occasion of the Global Entrepreneurship Week celebrated from November 18 – 22, 2019.

The following is the full text of Vice-President Meriton’s message:

“The Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is a worldwide campaign that celebrates the successes of creators and innovators who dared to dream big and took risks to launch their start-ups.

“These people are viewed as ‘Entrepreneurs’ because they can contribute significantly towards changing the world we live in. Entrepreneurship is crucial for every country as it contributes towards rapid job creation, GDP growth, and long-term productivity.

“Developing a culture of entrepreneurship requires effective and robust sensitisation, ensuring that young people acquire the competencies and skills they need to pursue their ambition. If we can have one child think of one innovative idea every year which they will eventually turn into a business venture will surely impact our economy for better long-term growth.

“Let us therefore reflect on the statement recently made by Misael Bristol, the second youth to address the National Assembly. He said, ‘There is a lot of work to be done for the children of Seychelles’. We have heard this call and next year, the department, with the help of its partners, aims to organise more innovation and entrepreneurship-related activities such as business pitching competitions, fairs, informative talks, fora as well as networking sessions, which will connect all related stakeholders in order to build a stronger entrepreneurship community with a wider national outreach.

“The Department of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development kick-started its entrepreneurship campaign to promote and encourage an entrepreneurial culture among our youth. The School Entrepreneurship Competition, the NCC/Global Shapers’ ‘Konekte.Zenn’ programme dedicated towards entrepreneurship discussions and the national distribution of our ‘5 Steps to Starting up your Business’, ‘MSMEs Guide to Incentives’ and ‘What is an Entrepreneur’ Booklets, are among the many efforts dedicated towards sensitising the youth.

“The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) have initiated collaborations with Seychelles through the department to establish an Entrepreneurship Policy Framework, which will emphasise the need to revise the licensing framework for innovative businesses and create mentorship systems, among others. UNCTAD has also agreed to establish its globally recognised entrepreneurship capacity building programme, EMPRETEC, in Seychelles, in order to build on the entrepreneurship energies that is already being supplied by members of both the public and private sectors.

“My message for this year’s Global Entrepreneurship Week is the following;

“To our future entrepreneurs – be bold and confident enough to go after your ideas, have the passion to dare to dream and the tenacity not to give up in the face of challenges.

“To our communities – be entrepreneurial role models for our children.

“As policy makers, we are committed to providing the appropriate ecosystem for entrepreneurship development.

“I wish everyone, an informative Global Entrepreneurship Week.”