Report of status of electronic commerce in Seychelles |28 November 2020
Wahib A. M Lashahb, chargé d’Affaires of the Libyan embassy (left) and Minister Radegonde
The United States embassy for Mauritius and Seychelles has presented a report to the Minister for Investment, Entrepreneurship and Industry, Devika Vidot, on the status of ecommerce in Seychelles.
The report is the culmination of a project entitled Development of ecommerce sector in Seychelles, with Seychellois women entrepreneurs through a partnership with Enterprise Agency Seychelles (Esa).
The event, attended by various stakeholders including women entrepreneurs, was held at Standard House, Providence.
The report is the culmination of a series of events in Seychelles aimed at promoting women entrepreneurs’ economic empowerment, under a U.S. project called ‘Providing Opportunities for Women’s Economic Rise’ (POWER).
A series of facebook live sessions as well as a half-day workshop were organised covering topics such as ‘Creating an enabling ecommerce environment’, ‘Unlocking value with ecommer’, and ‘Thriving through digital’.
There were speakers from MasterCard, Mauritius Commercial Bank, Ten by Three and International Economics Consulting Ltd.
The report was drafted by International Economic Ltd following consultations with the participants of the project.
Several women entrepreneurs did one on one consultations with ecommerce expert, Theresa Carrington.
In accepting the report, Minister Vidot noted that it identifies key areas of deficiencies in the development of ecommerce in Seychelles and including existing laws and policies.
She noted that the report provides an opportunity for the government to better understand the gaps that exist and will provide the country with a good standing point for improvement.
Minister Vidot talked of the need to improve the teaching of ICT in the schools, an important step to creating the platform and frame the mindset of young boys and girls from an early stage to embrace the use of technology in their every day lives.
In thanking the U.S. embassy for the project, Minister Vidot said: “Thank you for assisting us to identify our areas of weakness so that we are able to work on these for the betterment of the economy, our people, our Seychellois women.”
“Seychelles is committed to improving the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ and ecommerce has proven to have the potential to assist considerably in this quest,” the minister said.
In her remarks, the chief executive of Esa, Angelique Appoo, highlighted the importance of ecommerce, noting that Esa is looking forward to working with the various stakeholders to improve ecommerce in Seychelles.
Two of the high priority recommendations of the report include a review of existing laws and regulations to ensure relevance for ecommerce and reinforcing the establishment and use of payment solutions.
Contributed by M.A. Ernesta