Fruitful business connections made at Seychelles-China Trade Expo

Organised by the Ministry of Investment, Entrepreneurship, and Industry was a good opportunity to establish contacts. (Seychelles News Agency)

(Seychelles News Agency) - Seychellois entrepreneurs and Chinese suppliers said the Seychelles-China Trade Expo, organised by the Ministry of Investment, Entrepreneurship, and Industry was a good opportunity to establish contacts.  

During the event, SNA spoke to several of the entrepreneurs and Chinese suppliers.

Joanna Didon, owner of Katiti Seychelles, her brand, said, "The Expo is very well organised and there is a lot of information available for entrepreneurs and investors who wish to develop their business further with a collaboration with China. I am here mainly to look at the manufacturing of textiles. I had planned to go to China early next year to look for suppliers for my project, so this Expo comes at an opportune moment when I can now establish these contacts from here in Seychelles and this benefits us in terms of cost."

James Jean, a farmer emphasised the efficiency of having the suppliers come to Seychelles, and said he attended mainly to look at equipment for hydroponic farming.

"It is very interesting, there is a lot of opportunities, different kinds of equipment being offered, and even greenhouse building. It definitely reduces the time it takes to order the equipment by having these suppliers here to speak to them. It also reduces the risk of being scammed online," added Jean.

Many stalls were also displaying typical products made in Chengdu. (Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

Some stalls showcased companies that provide technical services, such as greenhouse building, aluminium parts production, equipment for food packaging even engineering among others.

Many stalls were also displaying typical products made in Chengdu, such as snacks, flavourings for food, bags, silk embroidery as well as Chinese tea.

Zhang Jiao from the Sichuan Tourism University told SNA, "Chengdu is a gastronomy city and Sichuan cuisine is very famous. So, for this Expo, I have brought a lot of Sichuan cuisine to Seychelles."

He brought flavouring for hotpot, ingredients for cooking as well as chutneys that can be eaten with rice and rice wine.

One supplier displayed mops that can be used for both wet and dry surfaces at the same time while another was showing different foam products that they produce such as pillows and mattresses. In another stall, visitors were able to taste delicious sweet buns with a variety of fillings.

The suppliers also provided visitors with brochures and their contact information for further discussions.  

Several Seychellois-owned enterprises were also present and one of them, Leroy Zialor showcased what his business Zhuhai Troy Trading Co. Ltd offers.

Zialor told SNA that his company is based in China and trades internationally, however, they also facilitate Seychellois clients' access to Chinese manufacturing. The company trades mainly in construction equipment and machinery, interior design solutions, prefabricated buildings as well as customised sourcing services to meet specific client requirements.

"When we started it was difficult to establish our company because we are foreigners and not Chinese, but after some time and a lot of effort, we were able to move forward. We trade internationally but we also connect Seychelles to China. Here in Seychelles, we supply farming equipment, such as tractors, and cultivators to farms on the main islands as well as several outer islands that have operating farms. We also supply food processing equipment among many others."

Zailor said, "This Expo is good for us especially in terms of visibility. We are already well-established but through this, we just wanted to secure our position, to show that we are present. But from what I can see we are alright, even STC (Seychelles Trading Company) visited us today for future collaboration."