Flagship project
Strengthening trade systems and export competitiveness in Seychelles
Strengthening Seychelles' integration into regional and international markets through trade reforms, upgraded tax and customs systems, and support to fisheries, aquaculture and agriculture value chains.
The challenge
Seychelles is a small, open economy highly dependent on tourism, fish exports and imports. This makes the country vulnerable to external shocks and underlines the need for a more diversified, competitive economy. To expand exports and strengthen regional and global trade integration, Seychelles needed support to implement the EU-Eastern and Southern Africa Economic Partnership Agreement, improve trade systems and develop higher-value products.
Our goal
Helping Seychelles strengthen its position in regional and international trade. The focus was on improving the capacity of public institutions and private-sector actors to implement the Economic Partnership Agreement and other trade agreements, while upgrading value chains in manufacturing, agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture. The work also supported job creation, higher value addition, environmentally friendly production, trade facilitation and investment promotion.
Our approach
We provided long-term technical assistance across three areas. First, trade facilitation support helped government institutions implement trade-related reforms, strengthen customs and tax systems, and build capacity on topics such as rules of origin, standards, intellectual property rights, consumer protection and competition. Second, productive-sector support focused on value chain development, export readiness, aquaculture, the blue economy and environmental sustainability. Third, cross-cutting support covered monitoring, communication, knowledge management, training of trainers and e-learning, helping institutions retain and share new knowledge beyond the project.
Impact in numbers
The work delivered concrete institutional, digital and private-sector results. A fisheries database was developed and laboratory equipment procured for the Seychelles Bureau of Standards. Training reached public institutions, customs officers, exporters, SME staff, aquaculture professionals and trainers, helping strengthen national capacity to implement trade agreements and support export-oriented growth.
Key highlights
- Digital reform was a major focus. Support included the development of a new Tax Management System for the Seychelles Revenue Commission, upgrades to the ASYCUDA World customs management system, and redesigned websites for the Seychelles Revenue Commission and Trade Portal.
- Trade-related capacity was strengthened through training and mentoring on rules of origin, the EU Registered Exporter system, Harmonised System classification and other Economic Partnership Agreement requirements. Legal and institutional reforms also advanced in areas such as intellectual property, consumer protection, fair trading, standards, organic agriculture and aquaculture.
- In the productive sectors, work focused on fisheries, aquaculture and agriculture value chains. This included identifying export opportunities, developing fish exporter guidelines, preparing aquaculture business models and creating action plans for vanilla, honey and cinnamon. SME development was supported through the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry incubator, while blue economy monitoring, sustainability assessments and gender-inclusive training further strengthened long-term sector development.
Voices from the field
With the new Aquaculture Policy that is being launched today, key challenges will be addressed notably those related to licensing and permitting systems and to the use of non-indigenous culture species in aquaculture.
It was an honour to participate in the workshop, and I am now sharing and implementing what was taught and passing on the knowledge of bookkeeping to SMEs so they will be able to do it on their own.
As we gather here today, we are reminded of the critical role our oceans play in our lives. In Seychelles, the ocean is not just a natural resource; it is the lifeblood of our economy, culture, and sustenance. [...] By optimising the use of our expansive ocean territory, we aim to enhance food security, generate income, create jobs, and provide environmental benefits such as climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Special features
E-learning platform
To make training accessible beyond workshops, an e-learning platform was developed with digital versions of all project training courses.
In the media
Seychellois media covered several project-supported reforms, training activities and sector developments.
- Trademark registration in the Seychelles – a global data analysis (Seychelles Nation)
- SCCI shares training success with outgoing EU ambassador (Seychelles Nation)
- SBS gets testing gear through European Development Fund (Seychelles Nation)
- SFA launches new aquaculture policy (Seychelles Nation)
- Seychelles launches National Aquaculture Policy 2023-2027 (Seychelles News Agency)
Impressions
