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Industry Review 2023

Driving Efficiency and Innovation

The year 2023 has brought to the fore the need for contactless activities and emerging technologies with the convergence of platforms such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, and Blockchain Technology. Newer services such as Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) and Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) have also been enabled in addition to the existing offerings such of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a- Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) among others.

The BPO market has also undergone considerable change with companies moving away from the traditional “people-centric” mindset, to a more technology led transformation. Companies are also building differentiation and improving on their offerings by integrating AI and analytics.

With the changing nature of jobs, the skills needed to perform these jobs are also transforming. Employers are more on the lookout for employees possessing a combination of three different capabilities, including technical skills, professional skills, and domain knowledge. An increase in demand for profiles such as security engineer, security analyst, penetration testing engineer, Cybersecurity manager, Data analyst, Data engineer, Cloud system administrator, Digital Marketer and RPA developer among others has been noted.

The number of technology start-ups has also witnessed an increase in line with the digitalisation drive of the industry and Government. Activities relate mainly to development of blockchain solutions and platform, digital content and Ecommerce, data analytics and Artificial Intelligence among others.

Some key industry developments are highlighted below:

• An increase of 5.6% was noted since 2022 in terms of number of companies to reach 950 companies. Last year saw the entrance of new flagship companies such as Alludo, Objectivity Ltd, OneWeb, SecureKey among others.
• With regards to segmentation, the IT services segment has witnessed an increase as companies emerged as digital solutions partner, offering enterprise-wide automation. New activities include Business Intelligence (BI) and Business Data Analytics (BDA), Online software development, e-commerce among others.

Employment

Despite the tough market conditions, the industry continues to be a net hirer, with an increase of 4.7% noted in terms of employment to reach 33,500 employees.

Major National Enablers 2022-2023

1. Improvement in connectivity with the connection to two additional international gateways namely METISS and T3 thus ensuring the deployment of an advanced secure and resilient Infrastructure.
2. Deployment of 5G services by major telecom operators namely Mauritius Telecom and Emtel through out the island. This has also allowed Mauritius to feature among the Top 10 African countries having launched 5G services according to GSMA report.
3. Introduction of the Cybersecurity and Cybercrime Act 2021 which has repealed the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act 2003 and aim at strengthening the nation’s cybersecurity landscape and also address the emerging cyber threats that can occur due to the fast development in Information Technology
4. Creation of Mauritius Emerging Technologies Council (METC) to promote the application and deployment of emerging technologies throughout the country
5. Setting up of Digital Industries Academy under the EDB for the training of a national pool of talent in the ICT/Digital services industry
6. Operationalisation of the Innovation Box Regime under the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC) to encourage innovation-driven activities by eligible companies through the grant of an eight-year tax holiday.

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