President Dr Patrick Herminie today led the unveiling and groundbreaking ceremony for the COMFWB Seychelles Incubation and Innovation Hub, launched alongside the Creating Opportunities for Youth and Women in Africa (COYWA) Programme at Ile Perseverance. The Hub will serve as the national focal point for delivering entrepreneurship, innovation and business development opportunities under the wider COYWA Programme.
The President was joined by Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)Secretary General Ms Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe, Minister for Industry and Enterprise Ms Geralda Desaubin, CEO of COMESA Federation of Women in Business (COMFWB) Mr Miti Chikakula, and Chairperson of the COMFWB Seychelles Chapter Ms Claudette Albert.
Also present were First Lady Mrs Veronique Herminie, Ministers, and officials from the Ministry of Industry and Enterprise, at a ceremony that brought together COMESA, the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), and the COMFWB, under the theme ‘Advancing Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Transformation for Youth and Women through Innovation and National Integration’.
COMESA Secretary General Ms Kapwepwe declared the Hub open, framing it as the next chapter of a partnership dating to 2022 and a home for equipment previously procured under the EU Technical Assistance Fund.
"Today marks far more than the laying of a foundation stone," she said. "We lay the foundation for opportunity, for enterprise, for innovation, for a future in which the women and young people of Seychelles are empowered to become the architects of Africa's economic transformation."
Minister for Industry and Enterprise, Ms Geralda Desaubin, said the Hub would anchor Government's Seychelles Made and Aste Lokal campaigns, calling it "an investment in our people, our economy and our future."
"Let this Hub become a symbol of what we can achieve when Government, the private sector and our communities work together with a shared purpose and vision," she added.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora, Ambassador Barry Faure, said the launch underscored Seychelles' outward-looking ambition, noting that although the country is a small island nation, it had never allowed geography to limit its reach, and remained an active, driving participant in Africa's shared future. He described the ceremony as more than the launch of a project, stating that it placed the tools of success directly into the hands of the Seychellois people.
The Hub is expected to be operational in 2027. Construction is expected to be completed in 2027, marking another step in Seychelles' partnership with COMESA to expand opportunities for entrepreneurship, innovation and inclusive economic growth.