Mauritius is further strengthening its ties with Francophone African countries and positioning itself as a platform for doing business with Africa.

A delegation of Francophone African countries comprising representatives from the International Network of Francophone Investment Promotion Agencies (RIAFPI), the Ivorian Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (FI-PME) and the Guinée Business Forum paid a benchmarking visit to Mauritius from 19th to 22nd September 2017.

Created in 2014 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, RIAFPI (Réseau des agences francophones de promotion des investissements) regroups 18 investment promotion agencies from African Francophone countries. FM-PME was created in 1995 consists of over 30 associations, professional organisations and federations of SMEs with more than 4,818 members.

The RIAFPI and FI-PME delegations comprised presidents, heads of ministries and directors of various agencies (Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, France, Gabon, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Congo and Comoros). The delegation also counted a multi-disciplinary team from Guinea.

At a workshop organised for the delegation, the Board of Investment (BOI) reaffirmed its commitment to share its expertise and provide technical assistance to agencies from African countries, while encouraging cooperation at country level. The workshop included interactive working sessions on investment climate, Mauritius’ Africa strategy and the role of the Africa Center of Excellence for Business, the development of various Mauritian economic sectors and business facilitation. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Board of Investment and the RIAFPI.

Ivory Coast representatives took the opportunity of this benchmarking visit to also promote business opportunities in their country. Mauritius and Ivory Coast are already partnering on a special economic zone project launched in August 2017. Future cooperation between the two countries is expected to be outlined in a master plan, which will define economic collaboration avenues. In addition, the Ivory Coast expressed the wish to develop an international financial center in Abidjan, with the assistance of Mauritius, for which the BOI will send a delegation in the near future.

The visit was an opportunity to reinforce collaboration between Mauritius and Francophone countries from the African continent, and to further promote Mauritius as a well regulated and transparent platform positioning itself as a strong business hub for the region.