The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) World Investment Forum, the world's largest platform for investment and development, is holding its seventh edition virtually this year at a critical time for global investment, in the hopes of addressing the key concerns confronting the investment for the development community worldwide. The 2021 World Investment Forum began on 18th October and will conclude on 22nd October. The Forum provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the investment community to change the global investment climate in different ways and create collaborations at all levels.

In an award ceremony held on 19th October, the Seychelles Investment Board (SIB and the Economic Development Board of Mauritius (EDB) were the recipients of a special award for "Promoting investment in the Blue Economy". The Special Award is based on SIB's efforts to develop strategies to attract investment for the exploitation, preservation, and regeneration of the marine environment, as well as its willingness to share experiences and lessons learned, including at UNCTAD's regional capacity-building events, in collaboration with the Mauritius Economic Development Board.

Mr Lenny Gabriel, SIB's Deputy Chief Executive Officer, accepted the award online on behalf of the organisation. During his award speech, he mentioned how SIB collaborates closely with the Seychelles Department of the Blue Economy, attending webinars, panel discussions and promoting local and international events. As a result, Mr Gabriel thanked the UNCTAD team for allowing SIB to participate in the webinars and for recognising our promotional efforts.

He congratulated the Mauritius Economic Development Board, with whom we shared the award. He concluded by inviting everyone to the Seychelles Pavilion at the Dubai Expo 2020 to learn more about the Seychelles Blue Economy and investment opportunities in this sector.

The deputy CEO of Seychelles Investment Board (SIB), Mr Lenny Gabriel participated in an online Zoom interview with PRISMA reports on Friday 16 April. PRISMA reports is the exclusive representative of ‘Foreign policy’ for producing investment-related special reports that prioritise on some of the most interesting markets and business partners of the United States.

Questions from Laila Bastati, the interviewing journalist covered the impact of COVID-19 on the Seychelles’ businesses and investments, potential opportunities for US investments, FDI inflow and priority areas for the Seychelles Investment Board in 2021 and beyond.

Mr Gabriel explained that while COVID-19 hit the Seychelles hard economically and financially, it also exposed new opportunities for economic recovery, such as in the fisheries sector. He highlighted that the pandemic has forced businesses to become more innovative and resilient.

The deputy CEO stressed that the Seychelles Investment Board’s priorities are geared towards looking for new business opportunities which will enable diversification of the economy. These priorities, namely fisheries, agriculture and tourism, are directly aligned with Government’s priorities.

Mr Gabriel welcomed the idea of US investors in the Seychelles, saying that now is the best time for them to invest, seeing that Seychelles’ USP for stability is still attractive, and tourism’s and fisheries’ value adding prospects are high on the agenda.

The deputy CEO of SIB reiterated the need to streamline investment processes, enabling greater efficiency and enhanced service delivery. He mentioned the ‘regulatory sandbox license’ project, which will set a framework for standards and guidelines for investors, as one example of strengthening the investment facilitation process.

Refreshing channels’ communications and ramping up promotions to keep investors abreast of developments in Seychelles form part of the agency’s current strategy. He expressed optimism in the FDI inflow for 2021, and the potential reactivation of investments that were on hold, rather than cancelled in 2020.

Asked whether Seychelles can bounce back from the effects of COVID-19, Mr Gabriel said that the country can certainly bounce back, and this time it will bounce back stronger and more resilient.

Seychelles becomes the first country in the world to submit a report to the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI).

FiTI is a global voluntary multi-stakeholder partnership that seeks to increase transparency and participation for a more sustainable management of marine fisheries. It promotes informed public debates on fisheries policies and supports the long-term contribution of the sector to national economies and the well-being of citizens and businesses that depend on a healthy marine environment.

Coastal countries such as Seychelles face the complex challenge of ensuring that fishing and fish trade contribute to employment, food and nutrition security and income for the economy, while at the same time conserving maritime biodiversity for future generations.

To achieve sustainable fisheries, the public availability of credible information is paramount, amongst other factors, in achieving sustainable fisheries. Transparency in fisheries also meets growing demands from markets and investors – and its raises awareness and appreciation of the sector’s socioeconomic contribution.

This report makes previously unpublished information accessible on various topics including foreign fishing access agreements, stock information, payment and catch data from large- and small-scale fishing vessels, as well as fishing subsidies. It also:

• summarises the key status information on Seychelles fisheries sector
• assesses Seychelles’ level of compliance against the 12 transparency requirements of the FiTI Standard, and

• highlights opportunities for improvement, including 34 recommendations on further strengthening the country’s leadership in fisheries transparency, such as how the availability of information in the public domain e.g. on government websites, can be further improved.
  
  

Seychelles’ next assessment, due towards the end of 2021, will review the implementation progress of these recommendations.

As the world becomes more environmentally conscious, this first-ever report will serve to be extremely beneficial towards the fishing industry locally, giving Seychelles competitive advantage over competitors and potentially aid towards generating more from the industry and fisheries-related exports and activities.

Source: Fisheries Transparency Initiative | Seychelles Nation

Photo credit: Jude Morel

Seychelles is re-opening its borders to international visitors as from March 25 2021.

This was announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tourism in a press conference recently. The decision was taken together with the Ministry of Health as Seychelles’ national immunisation program or vaccination campaign against COVID-10 progresses well. This program aims to bring Seychelles to herd-immunity status by mid-March.

To date, a cumulative total of 57,095 individuals have received their first dose of vaccine against COVID-19 (82% of targeted population). 24,620 individuals have received their second dose representing 35% Coverage [Source: Ministry of Health, as at 05^th March]

For the investor planning their business trip to Seychelles, entry requirements and other relevant information can be found below:

Are international visitors allowed to enter Seychelles?

Yes, international visitors will be allowed to enter Seychelles as from March 25 2021.

Are there are any entry restrictions to Seychelles?

For the moment, South Africa is the only country that has been placed on Seychelles’ no-entry list due to the high cases of the 501Y.V2 variant

Please visit http://tourism.gov.sc/covid-19-guidelines/ for a regularly updated list of permitted countries.

Do visitors need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter Seychelles?

Visitors will be allowed entry irrelevant of their vaccination status.

What are the requirements to travel to, and enter Seychelles?

• Visitors will need to produce a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test certificate 72 hours prior to embarkation.
• Visitors will not need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter Seychelles.
• All visitors to Seychelles must apply for the mandatory Health Travel Authorisation (HTA), either via the Android or iOS apps on mobile devices or via the official government website at https://seychelles.govtas.com . This includes infants and children. The application can be made between 72 and 3 hours before departure. The reviewing process may take up to 3 hours before validation. A visitor will not be able to board the plane to the destination without the HTA.
• Visitors must ensure that they have valid travel health insurance with full medical coverage, including COVID-19 related medical care.
• Visitors’ accommodation booking confirmation must be presented at the immigration counter for verification upon arrival.
  
  

The full list of entry requirements can be found here.

Will visitors be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival to Seychelles?

There will be no COVID-19 testing upon arrival to Seychelles.

However, all visitors will have to undergo temperature checks and health screening. Any visitor who disembarks with respiratory symptoms such as cough, runny nose or shortness of breath will be isolated from other travellers and be subjected to further tests (for example a PCR or Rapid Antigen test, for free).

Will visitors have to be quarantined when I arrive in Seychelles?

Visitors will not have to go through precautionary measures or a quarantine period when arriving in Seychelles.

There will also be no movement restrictions once they are in Seychelles.

Which tourism establishments can visitors book in Seychelles?

Visitors must ensure that accommodation bookings are made only at licensed accommodation establishments that have been certified by the Public Health Authority and have the approved standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place.

Are there flights to Seychelles in 2021?

For updated flight schedules, visit https://www.scaa.sc/

What are the health and security measures in place in Seychelles?

Once in the country, visitors need to observe all security measures in place at their hotels or places of accommodation, restaurants, transport systems and public places.

Wearing a mask is mandatory in Seychelles when in public. Visitors are encouraged to wash their hands and sanitise regularly.

Is Seychelles COVID-safe?

Seychelles launched a robust vaccination program on January 10 2021, with the aim of becoming the first country in Africa to vaccinate over 70% of it’s over 18 population. The objective is to reach herd-immunity by mid-March.

Seychelles is amongst the top in the world for the number of people vaccinated per 100 of its total population [Source: ourworldindata.org].

To find out more about the vaccination program and health updates, visit http://www.health.gov.sc/

How can SIB assist investors with their investment project?

SIB is committed to assisting all our investors. Our dedicated team is available to meet the challenges with you and to support and advise you during this challenging period.

Find out more about booking meetings and project submissions here.

For a comprehensive list of entry requirements in Seychelles and detailed information, view the latest Travel Advisory here.