US-Mauritius Business Summit 2024 Explores Mauritius IFC as Gateway to Africa
The US-Mauritius Business Summit (UMBS) 2024 comes nearly twenty years after a similar event. Under the impulse of US Ambassador Henry Jardine, the US-Mauritius ties are well on its way to the next level in the wake of the US-Africa Leaders Summit (#UALS2) held in DC in December 2022.
On 21 August 2024, the #UMBS2024 kicked off at the InterContinental Beach Resort near the historical Balaclava Fort situated a few minutes north of the capital Port Louis. For this edition, the Summit focused on certain areas such as Biopharma, #RenewableEnergy, #Cybersecurity, and Financial Services.
In 2023, Mauritian exports to US reached MUR 7.7 billion, while Mauritian imports from US amounted to MUR 5.1 billion, making up a total bilateral trade volume of MUR 12.8 billion (USD 280 million). Mauritius exports to the US mostly apparel, seafood and cane sugar, along with jewellery and medical products.
A large US delegation of nearly 40 officials and business people attended the Summit which assembled over 300 participants. Cynthia Griffin, Minister-Counselor for Commercial Affairs in Sub-Saharan Africa at the US Commercial Service under the Department of Commerce (DoC), led the US delegation.
#FDI from US to Mauritius topped MUR 6.8 billion in 2023 and more than 100 US companies or brands are represented in the Mauritius market. Minister-Counselor Griffin did not fail to note the excellent Ease of Doing Business (#EDB) in Mauritius as one of the key factors for its attractiveness as an investment destination.
Indeed, Mauritian Finance Minister Padayachy concurred and pointed out that the wise policy decisions fostered the rebound of the Mauritian economy. The series of targeted measures in the National Annual Budget over the past few years have also contributed to mitigate the risks posed by a polycrisis world. Thanks to its #GoodGovernance, the Mauritian economy is now forecasted to grow by a robust 6.5% in 2024.
The participation of several Mauritian ministers, notably, Minister of Finance Renganaden Padayachy, Minister of Financial Services Sunil Bholah, Minister of Health Kailesh Jagutpal, underscored the importance and timeliness of the Summit which was long overdue.
Conscious of the limited size of the domestic market, Mauritian Foreign Affairs Minister Maneesh Gobin highlighted the crucial role that the Mauritius International Finance Center (#IFC) is playing to attract and structure investments into Africa.
“I would like you to consider two things: investment in Mauritius and investment through Mauritius. Mauritius may be a small domestic market, but Mauritius is a huge investment platform for Africa.”
Mauritius Foreign Affairs Minister Maneesh Gobin
Recently, Charles River closed a deal to bring its shareholding to 91% in Noveprim. This deal represents the single largest private-sector #FDI in recent Mauritian history. On the same note, the US government is injecting USD 300 million to build a state-of-the-art embassy complex next to the Bagatelle Mall on the M1 motorway.
As an investment platform, Mauritius shines with nearly USD 80 billion of cumulative investment having been routed via the Mauritius International Financial Center (IFC). The amount represents over 20% of the total financial flow through the Mauritian jurisdicton.
Citi Bank is also mulling to expand its presence in the #MauritiusIFC. The availability of yet another multinational bank within the Mauritius jurisdiction will reinforce its position as a financial gateway to Africa and provides a certain degree of comfort to US firms as they will be dealing with a well-known US bank.
In line with the policy of Government of Mauritius to reinforce the #AfricaGateway function, several related US agencies such as Prosper Africa, #PowerAfrica, USTDA and DFC made it a point to be present at the Summit. The representatives of the American Chambers of Commerce (#AmCham) of Mauritius, South Africa and Kenya were also in attendance.
On 22 August 2024, the Economic Development Board of Mauritius (EDBmu) organized a #B2B meeting at its headquarters in the Ebene Cybercity. The US delegation also had the opportunity to pay a visit to some model enterprises in Mauritius.
In order to further explore the possibilities offered by the #MauritiusIFC as a business hub in Africa, Prosper Africa — represented by its Managing Director for Africa Lisa Walker — announced another delegation to Mauritius ‘very soon’.
Since the the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) reauthorization is up for debate in Congress before its expiry in 2025, US and Mauritius are contemplating to hold an #AGOA event in Mauritius next year to unravel the intricacies and publicize the amendments under the new #AGOA.
