Mauritius Telecom eyes Africa expansion
Mauritius’s state-owned telecommunications operator is assessing opportunities in several African nations as part of a key strategic initiative to diversify out of the Indian Ocean island market. Mauritius Telecom is evaluating potential acquisitions in places such as Seychelles, Madagascar, Congo Brazzaville and Ghana, CEO Kapil Reesaul said in an interview. While expansion could be through an existing mobile operator, the company won’t limit itself to mobile communications.
Original article link: https://techcentral.co.za/mauritius-telecom-eyes-africa-expansion/233006/
Mauritius Freeport reaffirms its position for the second consecutive year as the leading free zone in Africa and IOC
The Mauritius Freeport has been recognized by the Financial Times' FDI Magazine as the best free zone in Africa and the Indian Ocean Commission region for the second year in a row. It also ranks tenth (10th) worldwide in the Global Free Zone of the Year Award 2022.
Orginal Article Link: https://www.edbmauritius.org/newsroom/mauritius-freeport-reaffirms-its-position-second-consecutive-year-leading-free-zone-africa
Emirates announces third daily flight to Mauritius
Emirates has announced plans to add a third-daily flight to Mauritius starting Oct. 1, 2022, a statement on state-run news agency WAM said.
The plans to increase the frequency of flights to Mauritius by adding an evening flight is in response to increased travel demand to and from the country and will boost connectivity to the island nation.
Emirates’ third-daily flight to Mauritius will boost seat capacity on the routes by approximately 35 percent, catering to the surge in demand and providing added support to the tourism industry during one of the busiest travel seasons.
The added frequency supplements the existing double-daily Airbus A380 services.
Emirates started operations to Mauritius in September 2002 with three weekly flights.
The airline is currently in its 20th year of operations to the island nation.
Mauritius is a very popular leisure destination, and continues to experience consistent growth post-pandemic.
Orginal Article Link: https://www.arabnews.com/node/2139766/business-economy
Danube Home set to open its first showroom in Mauritius
Danube Home International, the global franchise division of interior décor and home improvement division of Danube Group, on Thursday signed a master franchise agreement with Hyvec Group, a major business conglomerate based in Mauritius, to expand Danube Home in the Republic of Mauritius.
Hyvec Group plans to open three franchise stores in the next one year – including a large-format showroom spreading across 50,000 square feet – that will not only cater to residents but tourists as well. The first showroom is expected to be opened in November this year.
“Our global expansion means we will export more home furnishing products to the rest of the world from the UAE that will not only boost UAE’s export and re-export but also help the UAE economy grow further,” said Adel Sajan, group managing director of Danube Home. He said this will also further strengthen the economic relations between the UAE and Mauritius and "we are proud" to play a small role in this regard.
With more than 25,000 types of home furnishing products all under one roof, Danube Home is ranked among the top retailers in the Gulf Region, which has been growing at an average of 25 per cent since 2011. It is expanding rapidly worldwide through organic growth, investment and franchise partnerships.
Danube Home is currently present across 12 countries including UAE, Oman, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Rwanda, Uganda, Nepal, Sudan, Nigeria and India. The company is planning to open eight showrooms across the globe – including two in India, one each in Abu Dhabi, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Zambia and Senegal in the next six months.
Hyvec Group is the franchise partner of renowned global brands in Mauritius, including Burger King, Armani, Gant, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Mont Blanc, etc. The company has years of experience in managing franchise business of global brands.
Eshan Chady, chairman of Hyvec Group, said Danube Home is another feather in our cap and we are proud to bring this prestigious global name to Mauritius – that will offer a wide choice in furnishing and home décor to our clients.
"Danube Home has a wide collection of products. We look forward to a very fruitful partnership with Danube Group to develop the brand in our country further.”
Sayed Habib, director of Danube Home, Business Development, E-Commerce and Franchise, said Mauritius is an important market for Danube Home and its presence will help our brand visibility into not only a new territory, but due to the arrival of international tourists, our products and brand image will also expand to many other countries.
“Through our partnership with Hyvec Group, we plan to serve a growing number of consumers and give them a better value with new and innovative space-saving home décor that will give them more livable space.”
Danube Home has established itself as a leading retailer providing luxury at affordable prices. The company offers Free Interior Design services with its Design and Develop department. Danubehome.com, the fast and easy to navigate E-Commerce website is yet another feature that makes Danube Home stand out from the other furniture and furnishing retailers in the industry.
Orginal Article Link: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/danube-home-set-to-open-its-first-showroom-in-mauritius
Emirates reaffirms partnership with Mauritius
Emirates reaffirms partnership with Mauritius in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline
Emirates has reaffirmed its partnership with Mauritius by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA). The current agreement builds on the existing partnership between the two entities to promote tourism to Mauritius from key markets across the Emirates network.
The MoU was signed at the 2022 Arabian Travel Market, the region’s largest travel trade event in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group. The agreement was signed by Ahmed Khoory, Emirates’ SVP Commercial West Asia & Indian Ocean and Arvind Bundhun, Director, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA).
Ahmed Khoory, SVP Commercial West Asia & Indian Ocean at Emirates, said, “We enjoy a long-standing partnership with Mauritius and have had a fruitful association in the past. The renewal of this partnership is a testament of our commitment to boost tourism to the island nation.”
“As international borders reopen and travel restrictions ease, we remain deeply committed to support initiatives that boost inbound tourism and increase leisure traffic to Mauritius. Emirates’ second daily flight will now start from 23 June to facilitate summer travel from the Americas, Europe and the Middle East to the island nation. The extension of our partnership reiterates our commitment to Mauritius and enables joint initiatives to undertake tourism recovery,” he added.
Honourable Louis Steven Obeegadoo, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, said, “We are delighted to be renewing this MoU with Emirates as we pursue the strong partnership, we have developed over almost 20 years. Mauritius tourism is recovering fast, and some markets are already performing better than prior to the pandemic. We therefore welcome the increase in capacity planned by Emirates and the new partnership agreement as they will provide a boost to our tourist arrivals worldwide.”
Under the MoU, Emirates will jointly undertake marketing activities with the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Board.
Emirates started operations to Mauritius in September 2002 with three weekly flights and currently is in its 20th year of operations to the Indian Ocean destination.
Emirates currently operates nine weekly flights to Mauritius and in line with rising demand, the airline will be scaling up operations to double daily flights from 23 June 2022. The second daily flight will be served utilising a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from 23 June-30June and, from 1 July the airline will deploy its flagship A380 aircraft.
Emirates continues to place top priority on safe travel with the implementation of comprehensive measures on the ground throughout all touchpoints and on board to provide its passengers with the highest safety and hygiene standards at every step of the journey. Customers travelling from Dubai can also take advantage of state of the art contactless technology to ease their journey through the airport.
Orginal Article Link: https://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/emirates-reaffirms-partnership-with-mauritius/
Kenyan fintech Asante announces $7.5m Series A funding for pan-African expansion
Kenya-based fintech startup Asante has announced a US$7.5 million Series A investment to help its credit offerings to a host of African countries.
Asante has developed a digital lending platform that uses alternative data and a proprietary AI loan decisioning management system to approve loans to micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The company works directly with ecosystem channel partners, including telcos, mobile-based marketplaces, airlines, retailers, payment processors, insurance companies, smartphone phone OEMs and large FMCGs, to collect conventional and non-conventional MSME data, with the prior consent of the clients, in order to reduce the cost of customer acquisition and due diligence while providing sufficient alternative data for credit underwriting.
Asante has executed over 16 strategic corporate channel partnerships, giving Asante direct access to 2m MSMEs with a monthly lending opportunity in excess of US$200 million. Incorporated in Mauritius, Asante has grown exponentially since it commenced operations in 2018, and now operates in Kenya and Uganda.
The startup has active plans to be in 12 countries by 2025, and looks set to realise part of that goal after announcing a US$7.5 million Series A round anchored by Goodwell Investments with participation by other investors including Sorenson Impact Foundation and Forsage Holdings.
The Series A investment enables Asante to scale its credit offerings to the underserved segment of MSMEs in Kenya and Uganda, and expand to Nigeria and Rwanda.
“We are delighted to welcome our new investors including Goodwell, Sorenson and Forsage in our inaugural institutional fundraise. Together, we will advance access to finance, and financial independence and wellbeing for the millions of small businesses on the continent,” said Chidi Okpala, founding chief executive officer (CEO) of Asante.
“With over 650 per cent growth in lending activities since Q1 2021 and a sustained average all-in default rate of 2.5 per cent, Asante is well-positioned to fast track scale and deepen our impact in our operating markets. Our bold post-COVID response is helping small businesses recover, reconstruct and reposition for growth while ensuring that thousands of jobs are safeguarded. We look forward to a round extension very early in the new year to support the solid growth momentum.”
Orginal Article Link: https://disrupt-africa.com/2021/10/20/kenyan-fintech-asante-announces-7-5m-series-a-funding-for-pan-african-expansion/