ICT: Mauritius as case study in World Economic Forum’s Global IT Report

Mauritius is featured as a case study for successful development of ICT in the World Economic Forum’s Global Information Technology Report 2012 which was released yesterday in New York City, USA.

The Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Mr Tassarajen Pillay Chedumbrum, attended the launching ceremony.

The case study, entitled The Making of a Digital Nation: Toward i-Mauritius, enumerates the milestones met in the ICT sector reform of Mauritius. These include the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector in 2003, the conception of the first Cyber City project in partnership with India, Mauritius’ first connection to the submarine optical fibre route linking Europe to Asia via South Africa, legislative reforms to create an enabling environment for the sector’s introduction and to ensure sustainability and predictability for the coming years, as well as the elaboration of a National ICT Strategic Plan in 1998.

The above initiatives, mentions the case study, reflect the foresight of the Prime Minister who, in 1997, ‘boldly created the first-ever ministry dedicated to the ICT sector’. This, the report says, was a turning point in paving the way toward the transformation of Mauritius into a knowledge-based economy.

The case study also describes major actions adopted by Mauritius along with their results, focusing on the challenges faced by the country in making the sector emerge as an important pillar.

On the basis of the lessons learned in terms of strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities that lie ahead, the study presents some strategic moves—on both policy and operational levels—to undertake in the future in order to consolidate Mauritius’ position and enable the ICT/business process outsourcing (BPO) sector to emerge as an engine for sustained economic growth.

The case study mentions that the aligned vision and efforts of all relevant stakeholders in the ICT sector at national level will contribute towards asserting the visibility of Mauritius on the international scene, especially in relation to the global ICT/BPO market. It also stipulates that continued and sustained efforts to bring down the costs of international connectivity, to improve the quality of the workforce, and promote a business-friendly environment will further ensure that Mauritius becomes a preferred platform and solutions provider in the global ICT/BPO realm.