The Mauritian private sector, together with UNECA organised a workshop to establish pressing needs of MSMEs, informed by their joint country report.

Mauritius, 15 July 2024 (ECA) - The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Sub-regional office for Southern Africa (SRO-SA) supported the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry to convene a workshop to present and discuss the country report titled "Impact of Covid-19 and Russia-Ukraine crisis on MSMEs in Mauritius". The report was produced by UNECA jointly with the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), the Association of Mauritian Manufacturers (AMM) and the SADC Business Council, based on a survey that was implemented among MSMEs in Mauritius. The workshop was meant to stimulate reflections on the challenges faced by Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Mauritius, in the wake of Covid-19, Russia-Ukraine crisis and ongoing geopolitical tensions, and the opportunities that are available to strengthen the competitiveness, growth and resilience of MSMEs.

The country report forms part of a set of 11 country studies and a regional report to assess the impacts of Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine War on MSMEs in the 11 member states of ECA SRO-SA (Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe). Each country study was based on a survey implemented among MSMEs in the respective member state while structured interviews were also conducted with government officials. This was a collaborative venture between ECA SRO-SA and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Business Council and with national business associations of respective member states.

The workshop was officially opened by Hon. Naveena Ramyad, Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives who recognised the fundamental role of MSMEs in creating employment and in developing vital linkages in the supply chain by supporting operations of larger enterprises. She underscored that, since 2015, the government of Mauritius has consistently introduced and reviewed policies and strategies to empower MSMEs in their development process to meet the desired economic goals. "In this vein, my Ministry formulated a 10-year Master Plan for the SME sector in 2016, which has proved to be a game changer in driving SMEs to new horizons. As at now, more than 70% of recommendations in the SME Master Plan have been implemented".

The welcome remarks were delivered by Mr. Patrice Marie, Vice President of the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) who expressed concerns about the impact of COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war on MSMEs. He applauded the report which offered a thorough analysis of the challenges and proposed actionable strategies to help MSMEs thrive. He indicated that, "The pandemic disrupted global supply chains, decreased consumer demand, and created operational challenges, whilst the Ukraine crisis further exacerbated economic uncertainties and increased costs. The dual impact created an unprecedented strain on MSMEs, but it also highlighted their vital role and the need for robust support mechanisms".

Ms. Olayinka Bandele, delivered remarks for ECA SRO-SA, on behalf of the Director Ms. Eunice Kamwendo. She indicated that the report "paid attention to international trade and regional integration and to technology and innovation as drivers of MSME competitiveness. The report has confirmed that many MSMEs in Mauritius still do not participate in international trade and do not harness technology and innovation, outside of social media channels, for productivity gains. The report calls therefore for greater support towards MSMEs in terms of leveraging regional trade agreements such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement and to technology and innovation, in addition to access to finance".

The final remarks were made by Mr. Julien Audibert, Vice-President of the Association of Mauritian Manufacturers (AMM) who focused on their work in supporting MSMEs. He explained the advocacy work undertaken by the association in favour of MSMEs to counter supply chain disruptions, market fluctuations and the financial challenges. However, he also underpinned the importance of innovation, digitalization and partnerships as key in MSMEs recovery and future growth.

Dr. Verena Tandrayen-Ragoobur, Associate Professor in Economics, University of Mauritius presented the country report for Mauritius. She indicated that the survey covered 352 enterprises, out of which 280 were operational with businesses located in both urban (67%) and rural areas (33%) and in different economic sectors such as the services (69%), industrial (28%) and agricultural (2%) sectors. She highlighted that Covid-19 had a larger adverse impact on Mauritian MSMEs than the Russia-Ukraine crisis but that, independently of these twin crises, challenges persist for MSMEs in relation to access to finance, access to capital and markets and to engage in international trade.

Ms. Bineswaree Bolaky, Economic Affairs Officer, ECA SRO-SA gave an overview of the regional report based on the surveys that were undertaken in the 11 member States of SRO-SA, representing a sample of 3,301 MSMEs in the subregion. She highlighted a critical finding of the report: namely that only 11 per cent of surveyed businesses reported being aware of the AfCFTA, highlighting the need for more sensitization workshops on AfCFTA for the private sector. The regional report also revealed that firms that trade internationally - especially exporters - were less severely hit by the crises, and more likely to respond by changing their operational model in response to the crises.

Another regional response to support MSMEs was given by Mr. Peter Varndell, Executive Secretary, SADC Business Council who, among others, spoke about the SADC Online Trade and Investment Market Place Platform that will be developed with support from ECA SRO-SA in order to unlock access of Southern African firms to new markets and clients.

Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
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Addis Ababa
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Tel: +251 11 551 5826
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