(Seychelles News Agency) - As it celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, Seychelles Breweries - the oldest brewery in the country - is making available $149,000 (SCR2 million) for community projects under the newly launched Seychelles Breweries Foundation.

The company's director for corporate affairs, Mary-Anne Ernesta, said that the initiative was taken after the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) tax was abolished last year effective April 1.

"As a company, we still wanted to give back to the community within which we operate. Over the years, we have supported many projects and causes. We however wanted to be more structured in how we give our support and we also wanted to see tangible results for the projects that we support, hence the Seychelles Breweries Foundation," said Ernesta.

The community projects and initiatives that will be considered by the foundation should be targeting sustainability, environment protection, climate change, inclusion and diversity, upskilling of local workforce, youth and sports as well as responsible lifestyle.

Non-governmental organisations, civil society groups and charities are eligible for consideration under the foundation. The deadline to submit applications is August 19.  

Applicants must be registered with the Ministry of Finance as a charity or NGO and should have a certificate of confirmation in order for their applications to be considered.

"We have put in place a committee comprising of our employees who will assess and select the projects that we will support. The employees can be considered as experts in their respective functions and also have knowledge and experience in all the pillars that we will be considering projects under," explained Ernesta.

Seychelles Breweries established in July 1972 have a workforce of over 90 percent Seychellois. The flagship of the company is the SeyBrew beer which has been produced since 1972.

Seychelles Breweries also produces and bottles a range of alcohol-based beverages and soft drinks, including Slow Turtle Cider, EKU Bavaria, Guinness, Smirnoff Black, Smirnoff Red, along with its SeyPearl  and Coca-Cola product range of non-alcoholic drinks.