Mauritius is like an iceberg; the visible tip is not everything and usually holds more intricate and interesting content. This is not only applicable to the socio-economic environment but also to the Business sector. More often than not, the superficial (and visible) layer might show limited opportunities for a lucrative business ; and I would principally attribute this to the tininess of the island. However, a deeper look reveals that there is so much more one can do, with some insider knowledge and a bit of guidance from local experts. This type of knowledge and expertise cannot come from non-Mauritian, auto-proclaimed, experts who can only execute defined formalities and form-filling operations.

Probably the first sector where a foreigner would look at, while considering business in Mauritius, would be tourism. One of the world’s best tourist destinations would obviously have a very interesting tourism industry. Well, not really. We have a hotel industry but when it comes to tourism, we are still lagging a long way behind. There is no real leisure industry on the island, no world-class entertainment, except for some natural parks, nautical and eco adventure / sightseeing options. This is probably due to us being over-protective in our approach, falsely claiming environmental protection.  Such claims do not seem to apply when it comes to building hotels on beaches. The observation is clear, notwithstanding the reasons. Is there any hurdle discouraging tourism-related leisure initiatives? Yes, there are, absolutely. The Tourism Authority has not been very innovative in its approach towards the modern leisure industry. It has always been reluctant to give a chance to projects (and concepts) – even if they have already proven their worths elsewhere.

This is one of the reasons I do not see the tourism industry as an interesting investment area. The industry has been having the same operations for many years, with established players. There’s no point in entering this industry unless new avenues are released (by the Tourism Authority). In my observation, and opinion, tourism is not the best place to play for a good return on investment.

The retail (B2C) Market offers the same landscape ; rife competition with long-established players already on the ground. The domestic market is miniscule. As opposed to certain countries, we have trade deals (and history) with the Asian continent with China and India being major world suppliers in almost any product. Therefore, we do not really have shortcomings in types of products, and thus no gaps to be filled by a new entrant. It is mostly about being competitive and being different in terms of service and price level. That is a very narrow margin to play with. When referring to the retail market, we can also safely include restaurants. It is the same scenario : variety of offers service range and service quality. Entering the restaurant business requires a thorough market study and in depth consultation with specialists than before. Not easy to find a USP here… and neither on the commercial retail environment.

Many have engaged immense capital in Real-Estate business, surely taking from the same principle that people around the world are rushing to Mauritius. Property (and I have mentioned it hundreds of times) is not an investment. You can find articles around this by scrolling through this blog. There are far too many offers than actual demand. Very hardly one can expect a higher resale value adding value to an existing property comes to the price of brand new ones (taking birth every single month). I will not spend too much time repeating my observations on this industry, but the market situation has proven me right over the years.

A jurisdiction with international business in mind

First, look at the jurisdiction as an international base which allows many features you can bag in other countries :

• reliable and safe banking sector,
• streamlined tax administration system (and low tax regime),
• double taxation avoidance treaties
• logistics and infrastructure : freeport, seaport and airport
• accessibility and connection to major cities of the world : producers and markets
• bilingual workforce which is able to operate on both French and English speaking markets
• qualified business administrators (trusts, offshore, onshore, financial experts, etc.)
• and many more.

By just relocating the headquarters to Mauritius, a regional or international business is able to benefit from the above business-oriented features. If carefully designed, the business structure may provide for not only a financially optimized schema but can also generate a series of competition-beating commercial advantages.

Technology

If there’s one thing as essential as water in human life, it is technology these days. Engaging in an essential commodity is a success, if done intelligently and in a well planned manner. Mauritius, despite being called Cyber-island, still has to fully embrace technology in its everyday life. That leaves room for opportunities for those who have the right eyes and mindset. Mobile applications, for instance, have made a timid entrance but are yet to be adopted in many areas. Public transport, leisure sector, cinema bookings and food ordering / delivery have still not reached their peaks.

In various important sectors like education and health, there are open gates with interesting business models available. I was particularly looking that the pharmaceuticals industry, precisely on e-prescriptions side. Prescriptions are still being done in the archaic manner with handwritten notes. Such a system does not fit current standards and nor does it offer features such as traceability, stock management, effective controlled drugs management, supply chain and others. A centralized e-prescription system, linking authorities to a database of drugs and transactions, is what the island requires. Getting the right system is a long process, I admit, as it should consider various legal angles, as well as technical and technological elements. Yet, I haven’t heard of any initiatives along this line.

With the disruptions resulting from Covid19, the education sector had a dire need to reinvent itself. Online courses and tutoring are among the two most popular systems that gained popularity in the post-pandemic period. Mauritius was no exception, with online classes being made available in the impossibility to carry out face-to-face classic course delivering options. Parents as well as students have taken a liking to the online courses and are now very open to adopting online support and tutoring. Sure, that this shall not replace our classic classroom and it has demonstrated having a place as an additional (or complementary) platform to support the actual system. There is currently no technological offer adapted to the local educational scenario. An example would be a math equation solving platform, forums of discussions on different school subjects and curriculum, platform to link special teachers with students for support… the options are numerous. It takes a clear mind to formulate technological solutions, which can either be mobile or web based.

Concierge and services

The population follows the trend of urban development we witness around the world. Households are busy with professional life, leaving less time to focus on social and family chores. Adding to that it the relatively early closure hours of most businesses. This leaves a really short span of time for people to cater for their personal shopping and other errands. Registering the purchase of a new vehicle usually requires a full day (or more) of procedures and this is just an example.

Some are trying to open up this market and offer their services, but no one has come up with a well-defined business model that addresses all the needs of modern households. There are mobile applications that link people to different professions likes plumbers, electricians, mechanics, and similar. These are simply directories and have not received the acclamation expected. Hint : people need comprehensive services, not just phone numbers in a directory. What the busy consumer market requires nowadays is an effective intermediary who can communicate the needs to an efficient service provider and ensure that the latter delivers on agreed terms and quality.  

The concierge service addresses a modern market composed of busy local households and the expatriate community as well. It needs to be simple in operation, addressing practical sides of life while offering possibilities for more complex demands. Some households would happily ‘delegate’ grocery shopping or running errands to a concierge service which proposes a well designed service line.  

There are several other businesses which require proper unlocking, probably through creativity and some business mindset. I’ve been a privileged witness of both the socio-economic and business environment evolution of the island, having lived here for more than 40 years, out of which 27 has been spent within the business environment. I do not hold a biblical knowledge of everything, but surely, I have some tips or two to share.

What I can say for sure is that Mauritius is not just an ‘offshore’ place. It holds a lot of potential for real business, but just require appropriate attention and some creativity.

Talk to our team today and see what you can uncover in Mauritius
There’s so much more to explore.

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