Over the last decades, South Africa has grown as an important partner to Mauritius with exports escalating from MUR 3.2BN in 2010 to reach MUR 5.24 BN in 2017 due to its geographical proximity and the complementary products offered by both countries. 

Today, it is solidly positioned as the third export market for apparel products with total exports of MUR 5.10BN in 2017. Exports to South Africa comprise primarily textile and apparel and Mauritius’ membership to the SADC provides duty advantage to member states exporting to this regional bloc. 

From an investment point of view, Mauritius remains an important business destination for South African investors and entrepreneurs. Geographical proximity, regional trade agreements (SADC & COMESA), the business environment as well as the quality of life are some of the assets which contribute to making Mauritius the ideal business location for South African entrepreneurs.  In 2017, Foreign Direct Investment from South Africa amounted to MUR 1,8 billion. Additionally, the Economic Development Board Mauritius has granted nearly 785 Occupation Permits to South Africa Nationals. 

It has been recently observed that there is increasing interest from South African manufacturing companies to further grow their business activities throughout the African continent and are considering Mauritius as a potential manufacturing base. It is worth highlighting that the South African manufacturing sector contributed nearly 12% to South Africa’s GDP in 2016, making it the third-largest contributor to the nation’s economy. Manufacturing is dominated by industries such as food & agro-processing, automotive, chemicals, electronics, metals, textiles, clothing and footwear. Numerous South African enterprises engaged in these industries are keen to explore regional business opportunities to expand their activities. 

In line with its regional trade and investment promotion strategy, EDB has been consistent in its promotional efforts to sustain exports to and attract investment from South Africa with repeated missions in the three major South African cities namely, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, since 2013. Such missions include the organization of business forums in collaboration with chambers of commerce of each city, a series of business-to-business meetings with potential leads and site visits to targeted companies. 

In the same vein, a trade and investment promotion mission will take place in South Africa from 19 to 25 June 2018 to showcase Mauritius as the Regional Strategic Partner. The main objective of this mission is to target high value-added manufacturing and distribution/logistics companies having regional expansion plans as well as to promote Mauritius as the ideal sourcing destination for textile and apparel. It will also be the right platform to present other investment opportunities and to showcase the wide array of manufactured products which can be sourced from Mauritius. 

The delegation will be led by Mr. Arvind Radhakrishna and will comprise some 30 operators from the textile and apparel industry as well as other service providers. EDB will also participate in the Source Africa Exhibition to be held at CTICC in Cape Town from 20 to 21 June 2018. 

Source Africa has become the premier sourcing event on the African continent bringing together suppliers, manufacturers, service providers and buyers all under one roof.