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Building on Mauritius-UK relations

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Building on Mauritius-UK relations | business-magazine.mu


Africa trade expert Emma Wade-Smith was recently appointed as UK Trade Commissioner for Africa in a bid to boost the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the continent. She spoke to Business Magazine during an official visit to Mauritius from June 26 to 28 on the objectives set out regarding trade and exchanges between the UK and Mauritius. The idea behind her visit, she explained, was to take stock of each of the markets with a UK trade presence on the African continent. More than 28 billion pounds of goods and services were traded between the UK and African countries in 2016. 

“The appointment was a good opportunity to come here, see for myself and understand the scale of the trade and relationship and see what the future might hold,” she stated. Adding, the essence is to build on the 28-billion-pound relationship and bring more companies to the continent in order to export goods and services as well as invest into Africa; while growing it over the coming months and years. 

Emma Wade-Smith explained that this is not just about bringing British companies to Africa, but also about supporting African businesses and building intra-African trade links as well. Her office would thus bring more African goods and services to the vibrant UK consumer market. 

“There is a lot to do and we see a strong relationship between the two countries in Mauritius. I am excited on how we can build on the UK’s presence as one of the largest investors here and the largest market for local exports,” she stated. 

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One of her tasks, she stated, is to encourage more UK companies to come and explore the opportunities in Mauritius and Africa. The UK, she observed, boasts a vibrant domestic market while we see a lot of UK companies doing good business.

“What we are trying to do as a government is to encourage more British companies to think about exporting. My team’s role is to help direct that ambition towards Africa and help benefit from it,” Emma Wade-Smith added. Mauritius being ranked 25th worldwide on the Ease of Doing Business Report positions the country as a strong offer for British companies. 

The challenge is to present those opportunities to the UK business community and we are looking forward to working with the Mauritian government and the Economic Development Board to that effect,” she said. 

Trade missions from both parties would thus be in the offing in the near future. Prior to that, Emma Wade-Smith’s office is looking to make sure that these are targeted and that the companies participating to trade missions have done their homework and are in a strong position to engage actively in the opportunities presented. 

“We’ve got a platform in the UK that is identifying investment opportunities across Africa and presenting those on an online platform. We are experimenting with a number of different products to help British companies be export ready,” she stated.

Questioned on the potential of Mauritius as a budding financial services centre for businesses, Emma Wade-Smith responded that there is a lot of work to be done in that regard.

For example, Mauritius is an important contender on the trade front with 30% of the tinned tuna consumed in the UK coming from our country. On the financial side however, with the city of London being a worldclass financial services centre, things could be more difficult. 

“Clearly, Mauritius is looking to set itself as a financial hub and I think the wonderful thing is your location close to Africa, with the ability to engage with the continent as well as your access to India and China. This is a hugely powerful proposal. We are really pleased to see the work that the government has accomplished over the years, particularly about standards and transparency to enable the growth of a third ecosystem along the years in the services sector. I’ve been talking to the banks and the Fintech companies and the opportunities here are really exciting,” she added. 

To conclude, in order to fully unlock the potential of these exchanges, finance is the key, as well as understanding how we mobilise potential and bring in money from the UK into the African continent, Emma WadeSmith pointed out.  

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