Luxury Indian Ocean LUXURY INDIAN OCEAN #8 EDITION 2019 | Page 70

VISION
The MCB has established an ambitious program to ponder upon
the Mauritian economy, its challenges and opportunities with the
help of the consulting firm Utopies. This resulted in the Lokal
is Beautiful report. It suggests solutions to develop sustainable
prosperity for our island. Even if Mauritius is often referred to as
an African example with its stable and efficient economy - able
to withstand all post-independence economic forecasts and even
becoming a preferred destination for foreign investors - the fact
remains that we should constantly challenge ourselves, especially
within a changing global context.
is Beautiful helps in raising awareness of all the opportunities
available to Mauritians. It hence facilitates communication and
encourages partnerships, prompting concrete actions and the
development of circular, sustainable businesses. These will help in
creating an authentic value, to benefit everyone.
Despite showing reasonable economic growth in recent years, it
is clear that Mauritius faces some challenges in its main sectors
of activities. While we can invite international investments to
our economy, we still have trouble keeping the wealth within
the country to boost financial growth. For this reason, the MCB
aspires to collectively find new ways to create sustainable prosperity,
encouraging a new form of local entrepreneurship. The Lokal is
Beautiful initiative revolves around three main aspects, to which
we act and react accordingly: Maker Island, Circular Island and
Smart Island. The aim is to increase local production, promote local
purchases and innovation. Fundamentally, the notion of collaboration is the core of this
strategy. By involving all the stakeholders like companies,
public authorities, academics, researchers, cooperatives, private
institutions, and so forth, we can contribute to an explosion of new
ideas and create more sustainable opportunities. The hotel industry
for instance understands that working with local suppliers and
NGOs helps them in delivering a valuable experience to customers.
In the same vein, visitors can purchase exciting adventures via local
entrepreneurs to discover or rediscover the island - Explore nou zil,
My Local Tables or Taste Buddies are examples of such services.
This type of partnership illustrates perfectly how a circular economy
should work, whereby everyone benefits and participates in the
local economy; regardless being a tourist, a street vendor, a hotel
or a business. Likewise, the concept of ecotourism, as showcased
by Otentik Eco Tent or Salt of Palmar, also depicts how localism,
in contrast with popular beliefs, does not equal to loss of income.
As a matter of fact, Mauritius has been leaning towards this trend
for the past few years, with the emergence of many inspiring
entrepreneurial ventures. However we are still in the callowness
stage of this new economic model. While Mauritius is full of
entrepreneurial opportunities, many of these entrepreneurs do not
know who to reach out to or whom to associate with to carry out
their project. In no way claiming to hold all the answers, Lokal Lokal is Beautiful is a refreshing optimistic initiative which makes us
keep faith in a more virtuous, sustainable and prosperous economy. There
are many examples of its innovative actions, whether in agriculture,
tourism, new technologies or construction - a world of opportunities
is opening to entrepreneurs. This journey promises to be a long but
exciting one; the development of our country has the full potential to
become sustainable and we are the key players in this process of change.
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