With the right support from the government and all interested stakeholders, financial resources and a strategy which reflects both local and global challenges, e-commerce can become a feasible reality in Seychelles, despite its small market size.

This was the conclusion Mr Alexander Nkoto, the head of the E-Strategy Unit of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) bureau based in Switzerland, arrived at following his fact-finding mission on the feasibility of e-commerce in Seychelles.

Mr Nkoto made a presentation at the National Institute of Education on Tuesday afternoon, on the challenges facing Seychelles' recommendations and revealed a possible action plan as well as talked about the kind of assistance Seychelles could obtain from ITU.

The presentation was attended by representatives from different companies as well as government officers.

While stating that barriers to e-commerce, such as market size and investment challenges were not unique to Seychelles, Mr Nkoto said, with regard to Internet access, broadband, bandwidth, Internet host, access to computer technology and cellular communication, the country was in a much better position compared to any other developing countries, a number of which are however already preparing to launch e-commerce in their country.

Furthermore the commercial domain name Seychelles.com, according to him, is a major asset for the country and can help boost e-commerce development.

The challenges facing Seychelles in the field of e-commerce, Mr Nkoto said, could be overcome if all potential stakeholders who are genuinely interested to see its materialisation, put their effort together and invest in its development.

Mr Nkoto recommended the setting up of a small task force that could include stakeholders from banks, Internet Service Provider (ISPs), computer training centres and from other sectors, to initiate a pilot e-commerce project.

The government, he said, should play the role of facilitator by coming up with a national strategy that could activate e-commerce in the country.

The need to define the scope of e-commerce development, mechanisms to support technical, financial and capacity building, sourcing of funding and a plan of implementation were other requirements Mr Nkoto said were equally important.

The setting up of an commerce pilot project, according to him, normally takes between two to three months.  

Explaining the role of ITU, Mr Nkoto said the organisation would give its full support to an e-commerce project launched in Seychelles, by providing further technical assistance to guide government policies, provide experts to help in the coordination of the project, give exposure and assist in raising awareness of the importance of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the socio-economic development of a country.

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