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Seychelles

Digital snapshot – key policies and laws

Seychelles’ digital governance is anchored less in one grand digital strategy than in a cluster of practical building blocks: high connectivity, digital public services, data protection, cybersecurity, telecom regulation, and financial-sector digitalisation. The country’s official government portal already brings together services such as SeyID, e-border systems, tax tools, WebGIS, business authorisation, the Gazette, and CERT-SC, while DataReportal’s 2026 figures show 223,000 mobile connections, equivalent to 167% of the population.

The most consequential recent governance shift is privacy. The Data Protection Act 2023 protects individuals in relation to the processing of personal data, recognises the constitutional right to privacy, and promotes responsible information flows by public and private entities. The Information Commission is responsible for implementing and enforcing the law, including through compliance support, investigations, audits, enforcement notices, and administrative fines. This framework now underpins SeyID, e-government, fintech, cloud services, education technology, tourism platforms, and any future AI use involving personal data.

Digital government is increasingly identity-centred. DICT describes SeyID as Seychelles’ trusted national digital identity for secure access to online government services, including digital signing, virtual ID, digital driving licence, secure login, and OTP functions. The SeyID portal notes that Seychelles launched its first digital driving licence in December 2023, allowing eligible users to activate it through the SeyID app. This can simplify public-service access and digital transactions, but it also raises familiar governance questions about inclusion, cybersecurity, biometrics, vendor dependence, redress, and data minimisation.

Cybersecurity has moved from strategy to operations. DICT still lists the National Cybersecurity Policy 2019 and National Cybersecurity Strategy 2019–2024, whose formal period has ended, while the Cybercrimes and Other Related Crimes Act 2021 modernised the legal framework. In 2025, Seychelles launched CERT-SC as a national computer emergency response team for threat monitoring, awareness, intelligence sharing, and incident coordination. The next test is whether a renewed cybersecurity strategy provides measurable protection for critical infrastructure, financial services, government systems, and citizens.

The regulatory environment is also being rebuilt around convergence and digital markets. The Communications Act 2023 established the Seychelles Communications Regulatory Authority, which now implements and enforces rules for electronic communications and broadcasting. In finance, the Central Bank is modernising the national payment system, while the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act 2024 grants the Financial Services Authority licensing and supervisory powers over virtual asset service providers, ICOs, and NFTs. E-commerce remains less mature: the Seychelles Trade Portal says the country has yet to establish a comprehensive strategy to fully tap the digital economy.

The local hosting capacity is growing, including Cable and Wireless’ Bon Espoir Data Centre, described as an inland, carrier-connected facility opened in November 2024, while the finance ministry lists a Digitalisation Plan across Government alongside the National Development Strategy 2024–2028. The Ministry of Education has advanced AI-in-education work with World Bank support.

Seychelles’ wider digital shore

Seychelles’ international connectivity has moved from a single-cable vulnerability to a more resilient three-cable setup. Its first fibre link, SEAS, connected Mahé to Tanzania and helped reduce dependence on satellite traffic. The PEACE cable became usable for Seychelles operators in November 2022, adding a second international route and improving redundancy. In April 2023, Intelvision landed the 2Africa cable at North East Point, described locally as part of a 45,000 km system and offering over 600 Gbps of international bandwidth for its fibre network.

Seychelles’ Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva:

The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Seychelles to the UN Office and other International Organisations in Geneva represents Seychelles in Geneva-based multilateral diplomacy, including at UNOG and specialised agencies such as UNCTAD, WHO, ILO, IOM, WIPO, WMO, UNHCR, OCHA, and other international bodies listed by the Seychelles Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Mission is headed by Ambassador Cillia Mangroo, whom the Ministry lists as Seychelles’ Ambassador in Geneva, and UN Geneva records as Permanent Representative after she presented credentials on 8 September 2025.

Official UNOG website: https://www.ungeneva.org/en/blue-book/missions/member-states/seychelles

EMBASSY AND PERMANENT MISSION TO THE UN – GENEVA

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