TDB delegation concludes official mission to Seychelles
September 28, 2022
A delegation from the Eastern and Southern African Trade Development Bank, was on an official mission to Seychelles, this week.
The delegation, was headed by the President Emeritus and Group MD, Mr. Admassu Tadesse.
Several engagements were held during the official mission, with current clients, partners and government.
Speaking to the local media on Wednesday, at the conclusion of the mission, Mr. Tadesse, said as Seychelles is a shareholder of the regional financial institution, ‘it is part of our responsibility to support the development and transformation of the Seychelles’.
“The bank has had a very positive experience here in the Seychelles. We have been associated with various projects, mostly in the tourism sector, but also with infrastructure, specifically telecommunications”.
Alongside discussions with current clients, the delegation has also met with prospective clients, and also explore new projects for financing.
“We are looking at other sub-sectors of the infrastructures going forward. We are looking at supporting the SME sector, social infrastructure as well, property, real estate, housing. These are also sub-sectors we are looking to support. So we have actually been looking at quite a few sectors. Our footprint is not in that many sectors at this point in time, but we have had a very positive experience on the tourism side, real estate and telecommunication side.”
Housing Development is one new area, where Mr. Tadesse feels there is potential, for further engagement with Seychelles.
“We feel that there is an opportunity to also get involved in housing as well, so that is why we are comparatively positive about that sector. We have not yet made any specific commitment, but we are positive about it and looking to see what can be done.”
During the interview, Mr. Tadesse also gave his assessment of the Seychelles economy.
“We are very proud how Seychelles has recovered quickly from the pandemic. Tourism of course has recovered and we are seeing other sectors pick up. So Seychelles is in quite a good space actually. I sometimes tell my stakeholders and partners in the Seychelles they are actually sitting in a very good space and they should be proud where they are right now. Even when you look at inflation here, it is amongst the lowest in the world and not many people realized that. At the moment, I think Seychelles has managed this really turbulent economic environment quite well.”
In the course of the mission, the delegation from TDB paid a courtesy call on President Wavel Ramkalawan as well as on the Minister for Finance, National Planning and Trade, Mr. Naadir Hassan. The Governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles, Ms. Caroline Abel was also present at the meeting with Minister Hassan.
“Seychelles has always been a very good member state for us. It is a country that respects its obligations. A country that participate fully in the bank, and so of course we find it very productive to do business here in the Seychelles”, said Mr. Tadesse.