VICTORIA, Seychelles — Nouvobanq, the Seychelles International Mercantile Banking Corporation, has celebrated 35 years in business with an anniversary gala at Eden Bleu Hotel, drawing around 240 guests and recognising 57 long-serving staff as it laid out a renewed focus on technological change.
The First Lady of the Republic of Seychelles, Veronique Herminie, attended as Guest of Honour, alongside the Minister for Finance, Economic Planning, Trade and Investment, Pierre Laporte, the bank’s board of directors, former staff, and current management and employees, in an evening that mixed formal addresses with a Seychellois cultural programme of moutya and performances by local artists Telsy, Cusmun and Auspicious.
Founded in 1991 as a joint venture between the Government of Seychelles and Standard Chartered Bank, Nouvobanq took over the assets of the failed BCCI Seychelles operation and is today the only Seychellois commercial bank that owns its own head office building, according to the Seychelles Bankers Association. The Government of Seychelles holds 78 per cent of the bank and Standard Chartered Africa PLC retains a 22 per cent stake, a minority interest that the British bank agreed in 2024 to sell to a consortium of the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank and SWC Limited, according to the bank’s official About Nouvobanq page and an IFC project disclosure for an earlier World Bank Group line of credit.
Board chairperson Jennifer Morel and chief executive Christophe Edmond used their addresses to reaffirm the bank’s commitment to innovation, customer service and sustainable growth, framing the anniversary as a moment to honour the people who have built the institution over more than three decades. The bank honoured 57 employees with Long Service Awards, a Service Staff Award and a Learning and Development Award.
“Our anniversary is not only a celebration of our achievements, but also of the people who have made this journey possible. As we honour our past, we remain committed to building a stronger, more innovative and customer-focused future for Seychelles,” Edmond said.
A particularly moving moment of the evening was the presentation of a commemorative painting by the First Lady to Ahmad Saeed, the bank’s founding chief executive, who retired in June 2022 after 31 years at the helm, in recognition of his contribution to Nouvobanq’s growth and legacy. Saeed had taken the bank from a single town-centre office into a multi-branch, multi-million dollar business, according to the bank’s own history.
Edmond, a former First Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles, has run the bank since July 2022. He holds a Master’s Degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Southampton and a BA in Accounting and Financial Analysis from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne.
The five-storey Nouvobanq House, the bank’s head office on Rue De La Possession in Victoria’s central business district, was officially opened in May 2017 and covers 5,100 square metres, with a glazed façade that integrates the building into the surrounding colonial and Creole streetscape, according to a construction case study by the cost consultancy RLB. Nouvobanq introduced the country’s first ATM service, Nouvocash, in 1993.
Bank leadership said the year-long 35th anniversary programme will continue with further staff and community events in the months ahead, alongside investments in digital banking infrastructure that the bank’s leadership says will be central to its next phase.
Sources cited: Nouvobanq, About Nouvobanq (official bank history); Seychelles Bankers Association, Nouvobanq profile (ownership and structure); IFC Project Disclosure, Seychelles International Mercantile Banking Corporation Limited (1998 SPI); RLB, NOUVOBANQ project (building facts); SBC, 8 buildings that have changed the face of Victoria (Nouvobanq building context).
