Seychelles Pioneers Novel Financing Instruments and Taps IMF Climate Facility

Photo retrieved from imf.org

Seychelles is successfully balancing conservation and economic development by tapping innovative financing instruments. The East African island nation relies largely on tourism and fishing for revenue and was the first country to issue a blue bond and to designate its fragile coastal areas for protection in return for a novel deal relieving it of part of its sovereign debt.

It is now also the second African country, after Rwanda, to access the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF)—funding aimed at helping countries with limited room in their budget address long-term challenges, such as climate change and pandemic preparedness.

In an interview with Country Focus, Naadir Hassan, Seychelles’ Minister of Finance, National Planning and Trade, and Calixte Ahokpossi, IMF Mission Chief, talk about the RSF and Seychelles’ innovative approach to financing its climate goals.