AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene has held direct talks with Seychellois business leaders on how companies in the Indian Ocean island nation can access the continental free trade area’s expanding market, identifying the structural and logistical barriers that have kept the island economy on the sidelines of intra-African commerce.
Mene met with Oliver Bastienne, chairman of the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in discussions that moved beyond the government-level engagement held at the African Union (AU) session in Addis Ababa in February to focus specifically on what private sector actors can do now.
The talks examined sectors where Seychellois firms could realistically compete across the continent, identified opportunities to build business-to-business partnerships with companies in other African countries, and reviewed the structural constraints, including logistics, documentation, and market access costs, that commonly limit cross-border commerce for smaller island economies.
The AfCFTA Secretariat has been developing a tailored national implementation strategy for Seychelles, recognising that the standard continental trade integration model requires significant adaptation for small island developing states whose geographic isolation creates structural barriers that mainland economies do not face.
The AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade has emerged as the most immediately actionable instrument for Seychelles, since digital trade in services, content, and electronically delivered products can cross borders with limited physical infrastructure. Both parties highlighted opportunities for Seychelles’ dominant tourism sector to connect with African travellers and tour operators through the digital trade framework.
The Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry was recognised at the meeting for its role in supporting private sector participation in continental trade and helping local businesses position themselves to capitalise on market openings created by the agreement.
Ghana, which hosts the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra, has been central to the Secretariat’s push to deepen private sector engagement across the continent as a complement to the government-level ratification and implementation process.
