Located at a crossroads between Africa and Asia in the Indian Ocean, Mauritius is one of the strongest economies in Africa, and fast becoming a hot business destination. The New Economy speaks to Dharam Naugah, Chairman of the Business Parks of Mauritius, to find out what makes the country an ideal business destination, how his company is catering to the needs of corporate travellers, and what sort of opportunities Mauritius offers to investors.

The New Economy: Well Mr Naugah, what sets Mauritius apart as a business destination?

Dharam Naugah: Mauritius is known traditionally as an exotic tourist hub. For a population of 1.3 million, we normally see one million tourists every year. It’s a popular destination. Mauritius also is a very safe destination for doing business, it has all the evidence for that. It is politically stable, it is a safe destination, it has an efficient communication network, and it has a very excellent infrastructure.

[I]t has an efficient communication network, and it has a very excellent infrastructure

The New Economy: Well what services does Business Parks of Mauritius offer?

Dharam Naugah: BPML is, first and foremost, a one stop shop for providing office premises, service planned, and as a logistics to promoters who want to start a business, be it in the IT sector, manufacturing, or services sector. BPML is an owner of many state of the art buildings, such as Cyber Tower-1, which is acclaimed as intelligent building of the year by the intelligent business community of New York in 2005. BPML offers serviced land on freehold or leasehold to promoters who want to start a business.

The New Economy: Well Mauritius is embracing information and communication technology of one of the pillars of its economy, so how are you helping to facilitate this?

Dharam Naugah: The ICT sector has grown as an important pillar in the Mauritian economy. The ICT sector is soon to become the second pillar. BPML is doing its part by providing world class facilities to companies in the IT related activities. We have among our clients from flagship companies such as Ceridian, Infosys, Microsoft, TNT, and Orange. These companies are doing very well, and so is the ICT sector.

The New Economy: Well what opportunities would you say are in this sphere for investors?

Dharam Naugah: Mauritius is considered as a gateway to Africa for its proximity and preferred access to its market. The African continent has the highest potential to develop in the next decade, and Mauritius can provide a platform for promoters to enter the African market. We are members of the African Union, and of regional trading blocs such as COMESA, which provides many custom facilities.

The New Economy: What government incentives are in place to attract foreign companies?

Dharam Naugah: Mauritius offers a list of incentives to promoters who want to invest in Mauritius. We have got a very low corporate tax. We have got free repatriation of capital, and the bandwidth cost is very low. Normally, promoters look for other incentives, such as a very stable and safe country, the cost of labour and services is very competitive, and it is a bilingual country. Those who operate specifically in the ICT sector look for those who speak English as well as French, and Mauritius has the advantage to provide this.

Mauritius offers a list of incentives to promoters who want to invest
in Mauritius

The New Economy: How easy is it to do business in the country, and how safe for investments?

Dharam Naugah: Mauritius is a diversified economy, with a modernised sugar and textile centre, and very highly developed ICT, financial services and tourism sectors. Mauritius ranks first for doing business. First in the African continent, and 19th globally. It ranks first in terms of economic freedom in Africa, and eighth globally. Mauritius has been ranking first in the MO Ibrahim Index for the last consecutive years, so these figures are to show that Mauritius is a safe destination for doing business.

The New Economy: Finally, how do you see the country’s economy developing over the next decade?

Dharam Naugah: I feel that Mauritius has been one of the few countries in the whole world to show resilience in the face of the economic downturn in the past few years. We are doing very well in all the sectors, our rate of unemployment is moderate, we have got a very versatile labour force, and Mauritius is well set to be a hub for green database and a excellent centre for KPO services.

The New Economy: Mr. Naugah, thank you.

Dharam Naugah: Thank you.