(2 minutes read)
· The African Development Bank (AfDB) will pump in US$800,000
as a grant to the Government of Seychelles to revive its micro, small
and medium enterprises
· The Seychelles’ Blue economy is an innovative approach by its
government, which envisages exploiting the economic potential of
Seychelles’ vast exclusive economic zone of 1,374,000 km2, to promote
inclusive growth.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) will pump in US$800,000 as a
grant to the Government of Seychelles to revive its micro, small and
medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The package to help the blue economy of Seychelles is focused on
promoting its marine biotechnology sector and strengthen the capacity
of public institutions and private operators. It is also designed to
create a knowledge platform to provide technical and financial
training to MSMEs.
The US$1million project is a joint effort of AfDB and the Government
of Seychelles. The Seychelles will chip in US$ 200,000 as its share of
the project. AfDB will finance US$ 800,000 through a grant from the
Fund for African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA), which is a
multi-donor thematic trust fund that provides grant funding for
technical assistance and capacity building to support the
implementation of the Bank’s Private Sector Development Strategy. The
other contributors of the fund are Governments of Japan and Austria
and the African Development Bank.
The Seychelles’ Blue economy is an innovative approach by its
government, which envisages exploiting the economic potential of
Seychelles’ vast exclusive economic zone of 1,374,000 km2, to promote
inclusive growth. It prioritizes the development of emerging maritime
sectors, including marine-based aquaculture, renewable energy,
offshore petroleum, and marine biotechnology, while keeping the
MSMEs as the focal point. The project envisages training of about 100
entrepreneurs, half of whom should be women, creation of 20 MSMEs in
marine biotechnology sector, and the development of MSMEs’
Biotechnology Entrepreneurship Development Strategy.
