Although Mauritius is a small island, it has long been valued for its strategic location. Deep in the Indian Ocean, over two thousand kilometers (1,243 miles) off the coast of Africa, Mauritius was used by the Dutch, the French and the British to win wars and oversee empires. Independent since 1968, Mauritius has kept a stable economic and political record, attracting foreign investment and making it one of Africa’s highest per capita incomes.
A large percentage of the Mauritian economy rests on tourism and sugar production, but manufacturing and ICT sectors are growing. In an effort to expand the small country’s trading links, Enterprise Mauritius organizes trading expos in different countries where buyers and sellers can interact. From March 27-29, the Third Annual Mauritius Trade Expo in Uganda was held at the Imperial Royal Hotel in Kampala.
“[Enterprise Mauritius] is an export promotion organization, working under the Ministry of Industry,” Michael Nehaldas, an Enterprise Mauritius manager, explained at the event.
“We are the working arm of the ministry. All of the people working for Enterprise Mauritius are from the private sector, then we join with Enterprise Mauritius. We are supposed to help Mauritian businesses become ready to export.”
According to Nehaldas, Enterprise Mauritius recognizes companies that have the potential to export, coaches them to the point of being able to export, and then organizes opportunities, such as the expo in Kampala, for them to connect with business partners and consumers in other countries.
Businesses that have outgrown the domestic market have been encouraged to quickly look beyond the island because Mauritius is such a small country.
“We’re searching for a company here who can sell our products,” Benoit Augustine, one of the exhibitors, said about his purpose for coming to Kampala.
“As our market is very small — 1.2 million people — we know that we have to export. Our main [markets are] Europe, the U.S. and South Africa, but of course we export to other countries as well . . . Our main strategy is to diversify our market,” Nehaldas said.
One of Mauritius’ greatest advantages is its friendly foreign relations, particularly its inclusion in trade agreements. Within Africa, Mauritius is a member of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Outside of Africa, Mauritius benefits from its membership in the Commonwealth and programs such as the US.. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which gives preferential treatment for trade to specific developing countries.
“The whole strategy is based on our preferential access to the COMESA market . . . This is the basis of our strategy. Every member of COMESA or SADC is striving for inter and intraregional trade between African people. Right now that type of trade is very low,” Nehaldas stated.
In an effort to expand this trade and reach new markets, Mauritius has focused on building connections in other African countries.
“We see potential in African markets . . . We just came from Rwanda. Now we are here in Uganda. Rwanda is in a very early stage of development. We must go there, because if we don’t go now someone will get there first,” Nehaldas said.
Although Mauritius is turning its attention toward markets on its own continent, these new business connections present a unique set of challenges.
“Africa is Africa. It’s very difficult. You can’t come once a year and think that you will be able to do business. It’s the third time we’ve been here. In Europe, you go, you do business once. Africa is not like that. You must come, you must meet people, they must see you, touch the products. It’s a longer process. Another problem in Africa is that people are starting businesses, so money is a rare resource,” Nehaldas stated.
Despite these challenges, Enterprise Mauritius believes that African consumers will be attracted to Mauritian products. Enterprise Mauritius business cards display the motto, “Made With Care,” and it is this commitment to quality that they hope will set their products apart from other imports.
“In Africa, people are used to low quality products from China. We produce quality products. We can’t beat the Chinese in price, you have to be frank. So we have to propose something else, and that’s quality,” Nehaldas explained.
Helen Talbot, another exhibitor selling handmade jewellery, appealed to the same sentiment.
“Each of my pieces are unique, not like the ready-made stuff from China,” Talbot said with pride.
Business owners like Talbot are supported by Enterprise Mauritius. The organization studies target markets and tries to match those markets to appropriate Mauritian companies.
“We go inside the countries, see what they are importing, what the market is. . . If there are companies that have the potential to export, but they are not yet exporting, we work closely with them to get them ready for export. This means standards, packaging, market environment, we do all this work to make sure they are prepared for an event like this,” Nehaldas said.
According to exhibitor Shahil Ramchurn, a building and civil engineering contractor, businesses have to apply and be accepted to participate in the expos.
“I have paid with my own funds at first,” Talbot explained. “But in three months the delegation [Enterprise Mauritius] will refund me.”
Although some exhibitors expressed the pressure they were under to make a certain number of orders at the expo, overall the participants agreed that the event was beneficial.
“At this expo we’ve had individuals who want to buy for home use, and businesses who want to buy larger quantities,” Augustine noted, motioning to his display of metal products.
“This expo has been very successful,” Ramchurn said. “We’ve had good exposure to other countries in Africa.”