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· Seychelles is working on a project called African Trade Observatory (ATO) to make available to its businessmen more information about trade potential within the African continent
· This project will assist government and the private sector to get more information on the different trade opportunities and to collect trade data from different countries
· The ATO will create a continent-wide trade information portal to facilitate intra-African trade as a sequel to the formation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) aimed at boosting intra-Africa trade by connecting interested traders within the continent
Seychelles is working on a project called African Trade Observatory (ATO) to make available to its businessmen more information about trade potential within the African continent. This project is likely to be implemented soon, according to the concerned authorities. For implementing this project,
The Seychelles government will have to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the International Trade Centre (ITC) to be able to benefit from the project. The cabinet ministers have already endorsed the signing of the MOU last week.
According to sources, this project will assist the government and the private sector to get more information on the different trade opportunities and to collect trade data from different countries. Though it is a pilot project, the island nation would continue to empower its local businessmen to help identify new business opportunities. The government officials would initiate a dialogue with the private sector to know which country they would like to get more information on. The intention is to create an exhaustive list of goods and services on what they can buy or sell in different countries on the African continent.
The ATO will create a continent-wide trade information portal to facilitate intra-African trade as a sequel to the formation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) aimed at boosting intra-Africa trade by connecting interested traders within the continent. The ATO will collect trade-related data from member states and provide trade intelligence to both government and private sectors.
The data aggregation will capture data relating to Seychelles’ 115 islands, government and private sector companies, goods and services each island can offer, intra-Africa tariff preferences, customs duties applied, preferential and bound rates, internal taxes including VAT, excise tax and others, and commodity prices and exchange rate indicators, amongst others. It will also seek to connect buyers and sellers, through a structured network by feeding them with market access information, such as applicable taxes and standards and market prices.
