MIIB and Microsoft officials at Thursday's press Conference

Representatives from American software giant Microsoft have just concluded a fact-finding mission in Seychelles to look at potential ways for the company to assist the government.

Microsoft held talks with various parties in government and the private sector last week to gauge how the company could assist Seychelles with software and training, officials revealed at a press conference on Thursday November 13, at the Central Bank.

Two Microsoft officials, along with Joseph Nourrice, the principal secretary for the Ministry of Industries and International Business (MIIB), and David Bianchi, its director general for industrial management and development, said that the five-day mission came as a follow-up to talks during September’s Global Leaders Forum in Johannesburg, attended by MIIB Minister Jacquelin Dugasse.

The trip was not related to the Microsoft chairman Bill Gates’ visit to Seychelles in September, they said – coincidentally the tycoon had stopped over after the forum for a quick holiday.

Reza Bardien, Microsoft’s education accounts manager for West, East and Central Africa, said that the mission also included an extensive look at all 36 schools in Seychelles, with the possibility of incorporating Partners in Learning, one of Microsoft’s global programmes.

Partners in Learning, he said, comes with a minimum five-year commitment from Microsoft and caters to students in both primary and secondary schools world-wide, giving students access to technology for developing key skills.

But Mr Bardien said that the programme, as well as Microsoft’s general outreach to Seychelles, would take more of a complementary and advisory role, with government itself outlining the areas of need.

“The strategy is one of engagement through partnership,” Mr Bardien said. 

Dean Wolson, a Microsoft technology specialist for governments, said that another possible outcome of the visit would be Microsoft’s assistance in setting up an e-government system, whereby different ministries would be able to access and share information.

Mr Wolson said that although Seychelles was ahead of the curve in e-government compared to the rest of Africa – several local ministries have launched official Web sites in the past year –  the government’s place on the World Wide Web needed a more uniform look and feel for the sake of user familiarity.

“It’s just a matter of fine-tuning what’s already there,” Mr Wolson said.

One of the end goals of e-government, he said, is developing it to the point where citizens can eventually access government services, like applying for a passport, building permits or driving licences, through the Internet.

For Microsoft’s part, Mr Wolson said that offering assistance in education and other fields can often establish the company’s presence in a region, with students who grow accustomed to Microsoft products likely to use them in their future careers.

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