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WASME President Ambassador Prof. (Dr.) Kheswar Chandan Jankee Invites Indian MSMEs to Expand into Mauritius Across Hospitality, Infrastructure, Ports, Blue & Silver Economies, Academia, and Sports

At the “Diplomacy Meets Enterprise” roundtable in Noida, WASME unveiled the SAAGAR-SETU × WASME 2026 gateway, inviting 200,000+ Indian MSMEs to establish operations in Mauritius as a duty-light launchpad into 54 African markets alongside the Pockets of Hope publication.

NOIDA, India 12 November 2026 The World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (WASME) convened an exclusive, invitation-only roundtable titled “Diplomacy Meets Enterprise: How Small States and Small Businesses Can Shape a Multipolar World” on 12 November 2026 at the WASME International Secretariat in Noida (WASME House, Plot No. 4, Sector 16A, Noida – 201301). Guided by the theme “Small nations. Small businesses. Big voice,” the forum examined how economic diplomacy and bilateral enterprise partnerships can empower small states and small businesses to shape global trade.

Addressing entrepreneurs, institutional leaders, and industry stakeholders, H.E. Ambassador Prof. (Dr.) Kheswar Chandan Jankee, GOSK, Former Ambassador of Mauritius to Russia and President of WASME, extended a formal invitation to WASME’s network of more than 200,000 Indian MSMEs to explore, invest in, and establish operations in Mauritius. Anchored by the newly outlined SAAGAR-SETU × WASME 2026: The India–Indian Ocean–Africa MSME & Infrastructure Gateway, the initiative positions Mauritius and Madagascar as strategic Indian Ocean hubs connecting Indian enterprises to the $3.4 trillion, 54-nation African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) serving 1.4 billion consumers.

High-Potential Sectors Open to Indian MSMEs & Enterprises in Mauritius

Ambassador Jankee highlighted concrete commercial, investment, and joint-venture pathways across high-growth sectors where Indian MSMEs, franchise brands, and service providers can scale rapidly:

Indian Franchises & Hospitality: Indian quick-service restaurant (QSR) and fine-dining brands are invited to establish master-franchise models in Mauritius and expand across 54 AfCFTA tourist corridors, creating parallel export demand for Indian MSME food-processing and commercial kitchen suppliers.

Infrastructure Development & Sovereign Supply Chains: Backed by India’s $680 million development package for Mauritius—comprising $215 million in grants, a $440 million Grant-cum-Line of Credit, and $25 million in direct budgetary support—more than 10 major infrastructure projects (including Motorway M4, the Ring Road, an airport air-traffic-control tower, SSR National Hospital, an AYUSH Centre of Excellence, and a Veterinary School) offer direct supply-chain openings for Indian MSME contractors providing steel, cranes, construction materials, and medical equipment.

Port Development & Freeport Logistics: Joint harbour redevelopment at Port Louis, crane modernisation at the Cargo Handling Corporation Ltd (CHCL), and the 3,000-metre airstrip at Agaléga link directly with the Mauritius Freeport, enabling Indian MSMEs to import goods duty-free, perform light assembly, cold-chain storage, or packaging to confer Mauritian origin, and re-export to AfCFTA, US, and European markets.

Smart Real Estate & the Silver Economy: Mixed-use Smart City projects offer an 8-year tax holiday, while the Property Development Scheme (PDS) unlocks permanent residency from a $375,000 investment threshold—opening opportunities for Indian developers and healthcare operators to build assisted-living and geriatric-care communities through Mauritius’s silver-economy platform.

Blue Economy & Ocean Resources: Mauritius’s 2.3 million sq. km Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) invites Indian aquaculture firms and marine innovators to invest in offshore fish and seaweed farming, marine biotechnology, yachting promotion schemes, and tax-holiday seafood processing.

Academia, Universities & Skill Development: Private universities and educational institutions entering Mauritius benefit from a 3% concessional corporate tax rate, Smart City campus tax holidays, and streamlined work visas for faculty and graduates, complemented by joint research and practitioner-led certification through WASME Academy Industry Chairs.

Sports City & Sports Economy: Through public-private partnerships (PPPs) led by the Economic Development Board (EDB) Sports Economic Commission at the Côte d’Or National Sports Complex (featuring an aquatic centre and athletics stadium), Indian academies, hospital groups, and manufacturing clusters (such as Jalandhar and Meerut) are invited to establish cricket and athletics academies, sports-medicine and rehabilitation hubs, and sports-gear assembly units.

Renewable Energy, Healthcare, Pharma, Agri-Tech & Creative Industries: Additional entry windows include solar, battery-storage, and waste-to-energy engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) bids to help Mauritius raise its renewable electricity share from 17.8% in 2025 to 60% by 2030; hospital operations, paramedical colleges, and Sub-Saharan clinical-trial corridors; rainwater-harvesting loans from the Development Bank of Mauritius (DBM), desalination PPPs, and controlled-environment hydroponics; a 30–40% EDB film production rebate and destination-wedding facilitation; duty-free cutting and polishing in the gems and jewellery sector; and twin-anchor textile and mineral manufacturing with Madagascar across SADC and COMESA markets.

Bilateral Trade Enablers & 90-Day Execution Roadmap
Building on $851.1 million in FY24 India–Mauritius bilateral trade and over $200 million in recent Indian foreign direct investment, the SAAGAR-SETU corridor removes traditional cross-border barriers for smaller enterprises:

Tariff & Tax Advantages: Enterprises leverage preferential tariff lines under the India–Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA covering 615 Mauritian product lines, 310 Indian export lines, and 115 service sub-sectors) alongside Mauritius’s Variable Capital Company (VCC) fund structure offering 0% capital gains tax and Premium Investor Certificates (PIC).

Instant Digital Settlement & Delegation Support: Live UPI–RuPay connectivity enables instant INR–MUR cross-border QR settlement without correspondent-bank delays, while visiting Indian business delegations qualify for a 15% VAT exemption on MICE events via the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) and co-funding grants up to MUR 500,000 under SME Mauritius schemes.

Dedicated Joint Secretariat & Pan-African Reach: Operated from WASME’s Noida Secretariat with Anwar Sadat (Chief – Business Strategy & Trade Development, WASME) as Programme Lead, the initiative connects Indian industrial clusters with eight active WASME chapters across Mauritius, Madagascar, Nigeria, Eswatini, Tanzania, Botswana, Angola, and Zambia through structured 15-minute B2B and B2G matchmaking sessions designed to close deals within 90 days.