Financial leasing ready to take off in Seychelles |09 May 2014

It will henceforth be easier for small-scale entrepreneurs in Seychelles to strengthen and expand their businesses now that the foundation for leasing facilities has been laid.
This follows the signing by the Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) of the Africa Leasing Facility (ALF) Cooperation Agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.

The agreement was signed on behalf of the CBS by its governor Caroline Abel and on behalf of the IFC by its country manager for Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles, Satyam Ramnauth.
Leasing is an innovative financing solution for small enterprises that often lack the credit history or sufficient collateral required by most banks to finance the necessary equipment to heighten productivity.

It will provide the Seychellois entrepreneurs with an alternative means of financing their businesses.
In a statement, Ms Abel noted that “leasing will be particularly useful as a financial instrument for small businesses in Seychelles because these businesses often lack the credit history or sufficient collateral to access traditional forms of financing”.

CBS along with other relevant authorities will be working closely with the IFC, under the umbrella of this cooperation agreement, to further develop the local environment to ensure
that financial leasing thrives in Seychelles and achieves its full potential.

IFC will thus be providing CBS with some guidance during the drafting of the regulations to be issued, and the Bank thus expects to start accepting financial leasing licence applications during the second half of the year.

This cooperation agreement will also assist with the awareness campaign and training for stakeholders and this will be particularly beneficial for the local market.

For his part, Mr Ramnauth, said: “Countries looking to strengthen their economies, such as Seychelles, stand to benefit greatly when equipment for efficiency and capacity expansion is more accessible to its small business owners, especially in the agribusiness, fishing, light manufacturing, tourism, transport sector and business in general. With the necessary financial tools available to them, Seychelles’ entrepreneurs have the capacity to play an important role in the country’s future development.”

IFC’s Africa Leasing Facility assists in creating a legislative and regulatory environment favourable for leasing, build capacity of leasing stakeholders, and mobilise investment in the
continent’s leasing industry. It allows the benefiting party to leverage on IFC’s international network and to gain a global reach.