People seeking for a grant under the Seed Capital Grant Scheme being offered by government through the department of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, will as at the end of August 2020 be able to apply now that the scheme has been reactivated following a halt at the end of March 2020 in the light of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
It was the principal secretary for Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, Angelic Antat, who made the statement in a briefing with the press yesterday afternoon at her office, Independence House Annex, to announce the re-opening of the scheme along with a few amendments.
The Seed Capital Grant Scheme was launched in 2017 to assist start-ups with a capital of R50,000 in their early stages of development with government putting aside R5 million as funding to the scheme.
PS Antat said that out of the voted R5 million for the scheme, R3 million is still available to benefit 60 start-up businesses in the category of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
She further said that those applying for the grant will however need to prove how Covid-19 friendly their start-up is to ensure their viability in both the short and long run given the ‘new normal’ and how they will contribute in a Covid-19 economy especially where it addresses import substitution and exportation.
She noted that these two parameters shall be considered as compulsory criteria among others as laid down by the Seed Capital Grant Scheme Committee.
She noted that at the discretion of the committee, there shall be a cap on the common eligibility businesses, deemed too popular based on the beneficiary data of the previous years. She claimed the cap will encourage more diversification and innovations of businesses now that the country is looking to cut down on importation.
PS Antat said that there will also be no paper work as all applications will be made online and compulsory.
She noted that the department of Information Communication and Technology (DICT) is currently finalising the online form for the grant and application that are already with the Enterprise Seychelles Agency (ESA) would also have to be entered into the online portal as soon as it is ready.
She added that ESA will be making provisions to assist applicants with the online forms should they encounter problems and/or do not have access to internet.
She noted that the original fifteen-page form has been reduced to seven pages and therefore much easier for the applicants to fill.
Applicants shall also be directed to their respective grants before they can apply for the grant and they must show proof that they have not been considered under the other grant before they can benefit under this one.
She stated that Covid-19 has affected the Seychelles economy and hence there is a serious need to revise the scheme to encourage start-ups that will sustain the country and population as a whole.
She added it was evident that the country’s biggest setback is the inability for MSMEs as well as local entrepreneurs to grow and diversify into other industries other than tourism.
She claimed that government had to therefore encourage the emergence of new types of businesses for Seychelles’ recovery and resilience to future threats.
It was the cabinet of ministers who last week proposed for the re-opening of the Seed Capital Grant Scheme subject to the few amendments. This is because start-ups in operation are key to building the economy rather than relying on development finance and tax revenues as single sources of income.
So far, the scheme has run for a period of over three years and has benefited more than 300 start-ups. In 2021 the scheme will go back to being a walk-in scheme on a first come first served basis provided applicants meet the eligibility criteria. It is a scheme for businesses not older than 36 months from the date it was registered with the Registration Division and at the time of submitting the application, a business that has a turnover or balance sheet total that does not exceed R2 million, a business that is not a retail or wholesale, importer, car hiring, tobacco and alcohol production, dealing in shares, securities and/or other financial instruments, dealing in goods other than in normal course of business, banking and insurance activities, operating hotels including guest houses and others, a business relating to refinancing of existing loans, airfares payment, acquisitions of bond among many other criteria which can be obtained on the department of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development website www.industry.gov.sc among other information.
