Cabinet approves for two government banks to dedicate funds for SMEs loans |02 March 2018

The Seychelles Commercial Bank (SCB) and Nouvobanq will soon have to dedicate a certain percentage of the money they put aside for lending to finance loans for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The two government-owned commercial banks will have to honour this obligation which was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on Wednesday this week.

During that same Cabinet meeting chaired by President Danny Faure, approval was also granted for Seychelles to make a submission yesterday, March 1, to the International Court of Justice in support of the Chagossian community here and in support of Mauritius on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos archipelago from Mauritius in 1965.

Also approved was the set up of a centralised Intellectual Property office while a number of proposals aimed at improving the investment environment in Seychelles were also considered.

The secretary of state for Cabinet Affairs, Mohammed Afif and the deputy cabinet secretary for Institutional Affairs Johny Bastienne met local media representatives at State House yesterday morning to give more details on the Cabinet’s decisions.

With regard to the decision to oblige the two banks to dedicate a certain percentage of their loan portfolios to fund SMEs loans, Mr Afif explained that the policies will be passed on to the board of the banks so that they comply.

He noted it is true that in the past the government encouraged banks to make it easier to assist small entrepreneurs, an appeal which they did not necessarily entertain but now they will have to comply as the government is toughening its stance.

With regard to improving the investment environment Mr Afif explained that where there are difficulties relating to the ease of doing business such as securing the necessary capital, the proposed measures are expected to better protect the banks and other lending institutions such as a credit guarantee act, a prompt payment act -- details of which are not yet available -- all aimed at making it easier for people to get  loans to start a business thus improving Seychelles’ ranking on the ease of doing business.

Together with the government’s decision to make the two mentioned commercial banks dedicate money to fund SMEs loans, Mr Afif said it is expected that these measures will help and all are expected to be finalised during the course of the year.

In relation to the decision to set up the centralised Intellectual Property (IP) Office, Mr Bastienne said it is in line with recommendation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and to allow for Seychelles to conform to its obligations with the world’s body.

He added that in 2014 a team from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) visited Seychelles to assess and evaluate the situation in relation to IP and copyright issues. They proposed and helped with the enactment of two  Acts -- the Copyright Act 2014 and the Industrial Property Act 2014.

“It was found that other than a shortage of qualified manpower, administration of IP issues were fragmented thus the need for a centralised office to better manage these issues,” Mr Bastienne pointed out.

He added that the office will be relocated from the department of Culture to the Office of the Registrar for administration and registration but its legislative part will remain with the department of Trade.