1st Entrepreneurship Week launched |22 August 2017

Three accords signed to promote entrepreneurship development

World Entrepreneurs’ Day is celebrated every year on August 21 and for the first time this year Seychelles has joined the rest of the world to commemorate the day but has gone further by organising an Entrepreneurs’ Week comprising a series of activities spanning over five days.

The official launch of the week was held yesterday morning at the Savoy Resort and Spa at Beau Vallon where most of the activities will be held this week.

The aim of the week-long activities is to create more awareness of entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership. It has also been described as the perfect time to celebrate the people who started their business alone, who have persevered and have grown in spite of challenges.

It is a time to celebrate the founders, the managers, contractors, innovators, designers and producers.

The activities taking place on Mahé and Praslin have been organised by Senpa in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship Development and Business Innovation and they comprise presentations by young entrepreneurs with new innovative ideas, business forums, exhibition by new entrepreneurs, information sessions by different ministries, agencies, insurance companies, bankers’ association as well as ministerial on site visits to various small business locations.

The president of the Malagasy entrepreneurs and chief executive of Guanomad, Erick Rajaonary, has also been invited to share his experience on how he developed the innovative idea of producing and supplying natural fertilisers and organic manures using bat droppings which lay in abundance in the various caves in the south of Madagascar.  

What started as an idea in 2005 developed into a small enterprise over the years and in 2010 the company began international operations, exporting its products to European, Asian and African markets. Today it is still expanding and is providing employment to some 600 people who extract the droppings. 

The African Leadership Network awarded Guanomad with the Outstanding Small and Growing Business Award at the 2013 Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship.

The Minister for Industry, Entrepreneurship Development and Business Innovation Wallace Cosgrow launched the Entrepreneurs’ Week in the presence of key officials from his ministry as well as from Senpa and a good number of small entrepreneurs.

“As you know over 80% of businesses in Seychelles are classified as small and medium enterprises. It is therefore vital for us to boost the spirit of entrepreneurship in the country and give support to our entrepreneurs,” Minister Cosgrow said.

“While we celebrate our entrepreneurs we must also reflect on the need to promote and showcase our locally made products,” Minister Cosgrow reminded every one present.

During the ceremony Senpa’s chief executive Penny Belmont signed three memoranda of understanding (MoU) with the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce (SCCI) represented by its chairperson Olivier Bastienne, with Air Seychelles represented by head of sales Kathleen Payet and with the Guy Morel Institute by its Dean Shella Mohideen.

The agreements will create more synergies, better networking and encourage interest in entrepreneurial development, more training held locally for our local entrepreneurs as well as provide an incentive for businesses registered with Senpa to have discounts and bonuses when they use the local airline.

Speaking before Minister Cosgrow, Roger Toussaint, the principal secretary for Industry, Entrepreneurship Development and Business Innovation, had stressed on the importance of    entrepreneurship development which he said promotes innovation which helps to drive and develop the economy. 

It brings new ideas, products and services on the market and help create jobs.

“Many entrepreneurs who start small businesses are able to grow into larger companies which are generally able to establish better personal relationships with their customers because they are often more flexible than big companies and they also foster the appropriate and more conducive environment for the development of innovative ideas and creativity. They are also better suited to cater for niche markets as they do not have to support large overheads,” Mr Toussaint remarked.

He went on to note however that many small businesses fail because they do not have a viable strategy in place.

Mr Toussaint reminded all entrepreneurs and guests present that history shows that innovation and progress of all types are characterised by several failed attempts before they found any support.

He called on entrepreneurs to build trust around their ideas, to collaborate, adapt and innovate in order to manage the limitations and risks associated with their business. 

Mr Toussaint stressed that to be effective innovations have to be simple. He called on entrepreneurs to use this week-long platform to discuss and share experiences on the challenges of entrepreneurship development, the successes as well as lessons learnt.

Mr Bastienne said after the signing that the business environment is at present very tough and a lot of  our entrepreneurs are struggling.

“But we do recognise the government’s effort to help but we need to execute, we need to push, businesses need to have a thriving environment where we can succeed and make more money so we can give government more money. This is why the SCCI fully supports the MoU because we believe it entails a collaborative working effort with Senpa and it is an important step in the right direction,” Mr Bastienne said.

Young entrepreneurs Mervin Cedras and Andrew D’Souza presented their business venture Tour Booker, an online platform where anyone can  arrange bookings for different leisure and fun activities in Seychelles. Francis Victor a.k.a Ton Pol talked about his ever popular local burgers while Aubrey Philo and Travis Julienne talked about their idea to launch the K-Radio.

Activities for entrepreneurs continue today at Savoy with an information session where entrepreneurs will learn more on copyrights and patents while an exhibition of local products by a number of local entrepreneurs continue in the lobby of the hotel.