Awareness campaign to improve ease of doing business |05 November 2022
PS Nalletamby (Photo: Louis Toussaint)
The Ministry of Investment, Entrepreneurship and Industry (MIEI) on Thursday launched a new telephone helpline and email address, through which members of the public can relay their questions and seek clarifications in relation to the procedures to start a business, or who are in the process but facing certain obstacles.
Principal secretary for Investment, Michael Nalletamby, noted the ministry and stakeholder efforts and engagement towards improving the ease of doing business in Seychelles, a process launched just under a year ago.
As per Mr Nalletamby, the phone line 4325942 and email address eodb@gov.sc are both supervised by a member of staff on a daily basis, and the individual should be able to provide guidance and advice in relation to processes within the ministry, while also forwarding concerns to appropriate authorities, such as the Seychelles Licensing Authority (SLA), Enterprise Seychelles Agency (ESA), and others concerned with business.
“This facility gives us an opportunity to collect some data, equipping us with the necessary information towards formulating policies, and being able to identify where the difficulties and obstacles lie. It gives us the tools to develop not just our own policies, but to do so with other organisations who are involved in the process,” Mr Nalletamby noted.
The ministry is responsible for investment policies, and through the Industrial Estates Authority (IEA), Seychelles Investment Bureau (SIB), Seychelles Bureau of Standards (SBS), SLA and ESA provides investment facilitation and business opportunities.
Queries related to the services provided by all these authorities are welcomed. Over the course of the week, the campaign was being held internally, involving all the institutions, towards ensuring coordination.
As part of the ongoing work to improve the ease of doing business, the stakeholders are working to eliminate duplication within the processes and services offered, as well as moving towards digital platforms towards more convenient and time-saving processes.
“We are also working on our own investment portal and we hope to be able to launch the first phase soon. This will allow an entrepreneur to submit their business proposals to the SIB through a digital platform, rather than having to do it in a hard copy. We are expecting to launch the first phase by December, and that by the second quarter of next year, the full system will be online,” PS Nalletamby added.
The ministry held the first policyreview committee meeting in December 2021, whereby they discussed the licensing processes and hurdles in relation to mobile food vans and kiosks. Its aims are to facilitate communication and networking between the ministries, departments and agencies, towards smoother processes and procedures, and improving the ease with which one may start a business, while potentially reduce the related costs.
Laura Pillay