In the context of the 2024-2025 Pre-budget Consultations, the Chief Executive Officer of the Mauritius Africa FinTech Hub, Ms Benazeer Saïdoo, submitted various proposals to the Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Dr Renganaden Padayachy, yesterday afternoon, in Port Louis.
Following the announcement during the 2017/2018 budget speech, the Mauritius Africa FinTech Hub was launched as a membership-funded association in October 2018 with the objective of promoting Mauritius as the Fintech Innovation Hub for the African continent.
The entity endeavours to facilitate collaboration among entrepreneurs, corporations, governments, tech experts, investors, financial service providers, universities and research institutions with a view to better accessing the African market while enabling African FinTech ventures to do business across borders.
In a statement, after the consultation meeting, the Chief Executive Officer, Ms Benazeer Saïdoo, said that the suggestions and proposals stemmed from the various banking and finance partners of the Mauritius Africa FinTech Hub. These proposals pertain to blockchain, open banking, e-KYC (electronic Know Your Customer), and promotional campaigns aiming to maximise the visibility of the Virtual Asset and Initial Token Offering Services Act.
Ms Jacqueline Sauzier, stated that discussions focused on the difficulties encountered by the agricultural sector as well as its priorities
A pre-budget consultative meeting with stakeholders of the Mauritius Chamber of Agriculture (MCA) and the Mauritius Sugar Syndicate (MSS) was held, yesterday, at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, in Port Louis, under the chairmanship of the Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Dr Renganaden Padayachy.
In a statement after the meeting, the General Secretary of the MCC, Ms Jacqueline Sauzier, stated that discussions focused on the difficulties encountered by the agricultural sector as well as its priorities. She dwelt on the modernisation of the sector, increasing production, and promoting inclusivity with all the different partners and stakeholders.
For his part, the Chief Executive Officer of the MSS, Mr Devesh Dukhira, underlined that discussions with the Finance Minister were very fruitful. He underscored that the past two years were exceptional in terms of the price that was being paid to the producers, that is Rs 25,000, and added that this year, the price will be increased. However, he pointed out that for the next campaign, the price will experience a drop. Hence the need, he highlighted, to review production costs and optimise logistics at the supply chain level.
He also observed that 30% of sugar production is certified sustainable while highlighting that the sugarcane sector is progressing towards its goal to green the industry. He reaffirmed the objective of ensuring that the sector continues to progress on the path of sustainability so that the whole sector becomes fully certified. He also lauded Government’s support in assisting the industry move towards the path of sustainability.
Mauritius Finance’s Representatives put forth proposals during pre-budget consultations 2024/25
The Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Dr Renganaden Padayachy, held a pre-budget consultative meeting, ysterday afternoon, in Port Louis, with representatives of Mauritius Finance.
In a statement after the meeting, the President of Mauritius Finance, Mrs Shamima Mallam-Hassam, underlined that their approach this year is more practical, focusing on two to three significant measures intending to genuinely boost the sector.
Elaborating that the biggest challenge for the moment is the ease of doing business, the President underlined the need to urgently simplify and fast-track applications and procedures with the authorities, cautioning that delays in processing lessen the attractiveness of Mauritius as compared to other jurisdictions, which are very competitive.
She shared that the second measure proposed addresses the need to review the current line of action in terms of certainty and predictability of taxes, as well as the requirement to analyse other schemes in operation to re-evaluate our tax system.
“We also urged the Minister to review the number of Treaties that are currently active with other countries, as this is an advantage we can offer, and he responded positively by requesting the submission of the list of countries we want to expand into,” Mrs Mallam-Hassam pointed out.
Moreover, the President of Mauritius Finance indicated that the necessity to encourage capacity-building and promote the industry through marketing to increase its visibility was also emphasised during the meeting.
Speaking about the expansion of Venture Capital in Africa, she averred that proposals were put forth so that alongside our traditional markets, new ones can also be explored, and eventually leading to the setting up of a specific regulatory body for this type of fund if investors are to be given a platform regarding venture capital.
