Africa-Press – Mauritius. Our stable democracy, a strong financial centre and an increasing focus on sustainability are great entry points for start-ups and impact investors. We will continue to encourage investment in the agricultural sector by providing the right environment, fiscal, financial and security of investment to investors’.
The Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, made this statement, today, at the launching ceremony of the Katapult Mauritius Accelerator programme, at Ferney Agri-Hub, in Ferney.
He also proceeded with the inauguration of a co-working space for the accelerator at the venue. The programme is the first-ever African accelerator focusing on Regenerative Food and Agri-Tech for regional and international start-ups targeting the African markets. The accelerator is part of a larger plan to strengthen Mauritius as a focal point for sustainable innovation and transformation.
The Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, Mr Soomilduth Bholah; the Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance, Mr Mahen Kumar Seeruttun; the Attorney General, Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security, Mr Maneesh Gobin; the Minister of National Infrastructure and Community Development, Mr Mahendranuth Sharma Hurreeram; the Chief Government Whip, Mrs Naveena Ramyad; the Founder and owner of Katapult Group, Mr Tharald Nustad; Katapult Mauritius’s Country Director, Mr Thomas Berman; and the Katapult Mauritius Accelerator programme’s main partners from Ferney Ltd (CIEL), IBL Group, Currimjee Group and MCB Group, were present during the event.
In his address, Prime Minister Jugnauth highlighted that on the medium term this ground-breaking accelerator programme will put Mauritius on the map of agri food tech start-ups in the world and it will strengthen Mauritius as a focal point for sustainable innovation and transformation of the regional and African food systems.
Local entrepreneurs stand to benefit directly from the exchange of capacities and transfer of knowhow, he said. The Prime Minister moreover spoke of the need to diversify and enlarge the food base in Mauritius and produce more nutritious food.
Like all other countries in Africa and elsewhere, our country is exposed to the risks of food crisis and the compounding effect of the war in Ukraine, which is disrupting the whole process of chain production especially for agricultural products, he indicated.
Speaking about the country’s food system, he recalled that a major shift in approach has been adopted since a few years ago in Mauritius but there is still more to be done to make Mauritius’s food system sustainable and resilient.
The national challenge is to restructure and strengthen our agriculture so as to secure domestic food supply, he emphasised. At present, 75% of our national food requirement is imported, Mr Jugnauth pointed out.
We have to reduce reliance on import and addressing this challenge effectively demands actions and interventions at various levels of the agri food production and supply chain, he stated.
Government is aiming high and is calling on agro entrepreneurs to pursue growth in terms of local production and enter into international markets, he highlighted. The Prime Minister thus called upon the participation of public and private stakeholders to achieve these objectives.
He also expressed gratitude to the main local partners of Katapult Mauritius Accelerator for being lead investors in the programme and for joining the public journey towards the transformation of food systems.
It is indeed heartening to see the Mauritian private sector supporting this collaborative approach to business and innovation where large businesses and small innovators work together in partnership for new innovative development, he underscored.
Mr Jugnauth expressed hope that the Ocean, under Katapult Ocean, will be the next investment segment by the Katapult Group in the future given that Mauritius has one of the largest ocean exclusive zones in the world.
As for Mr Berman, he gave an overview of the Katapult Group which is a global investment company focusing on early stage impact-driven technology with funding spanning three verticals namely Ocean, Finance and Food Tech.
Over the last five years Katapult has made 145 investments in impact tech start-ups from 35 different countries including the seven start-ups present today, he shared.
Katapult believes that Mauritius can become a global example of what a thriving and sustainable society will look like, he added. The Katapult Mauritius Accelerator is a building block in making Mauritius a focal point for sustainable innovation and the future economy.
It is an impact ecosystem that aims to create a tipping point for sustainable change, by: building financial capacity through impact investing; implementing infrastructure for collaboration that is open for all; and strengthening the ecosystem for entrepreneurship and innovation, amongst others.
Under the programme, a first exchange segment at Ferney is scheduled on 04 May 2022 where relevant stakeholders in Mauritius will be invited to connect with the accelerator.
Budding entrepreneurs and emerging start-ups in the country will have this unique opportunity to interact regularly with mentors from abroad who are embarked on this accelerator programme.
The accelerator is bringing world-class experts and investors to Mauritius by actively connecting them to the Mauritius ecosystem comprising start-ups businesses, academia and Government.
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