A European programme that promotes investment in developing countries could offer opportunities for the development of Seychelles’ private sector.

ProEuroInvest, a programme launched by the European Commission, has a pool of 110 million euros, to be used over seven years, to foster investment and technology flows to African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.

Representatives from several intermediary organisations (IOs), such as the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association and a host of government ministries sat for a one-day workshop about the programme on Thursday December 19,  at the International Conference Centre.

The workshop was conducted by Stefano Bologna, from Economisti Associati in Italy, who also works as a consultant for ProEuroInvest in East Africa.

During the workshop, Mr Bologna explained that ProEuroInvest’s main aim is to help IOs and professional organisations to develop regional, inter-enterprise partnerships.

Under the programme, an organisation, together with another partner in the region or in another ACP country, can submit a proposal for a project to develop certain aspects of their respective industry or trade.

Mr Bologna said that ProEuroInvest’s requirement of teaming up with organisations in other countries facilitates the programme’s goal of both regional and sectoral cooperation between ACP nations.

If the proposals are approved, ProEuroInvest fronts 67 percent of the money for the project, up to a maximum of 50,000 euros.

The final third of the value for the project would have to come from the beneficiary organisations themselves, but Mr Bologna said it did not have to come via loose cash.  Capital, employees and other factors could be taken into consideration to add to the value of the proposed project, he said.

“ProEuroInvest is very much demand-driven,” Mr Bologna said.  “It depends very much on the proposals of the beneficiaries, and it is up to them to be proactive.”

The workshop was organised by the Ministry of Industries and International Business (MIIB), which is the antenna organisation in Seychelles for the Centre for the Development of Enterprise, the entity that manages ProEuroInvest.

Veronique Laporte, the director of the investment promotion division of the MIIB, said that the workshop was set up to build awareness about the ProEuroInvest programme, especially at a time when the private sector in Seychelles, and business in general, has fallen on hard times.

“We wanted to bring in the different players to tell them that the fund is there, and how to go about accessing it,” Ms Laporte said. 

Given the recent problems of some sectors of the economy, she said, ProEuroInvest could be an opportunity to “tap the outside world for funding to help develop the private sector.”

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