In January 2024 Mauritius was rated by Forbes Africa as the most innovative African country and the one having the most favorable business climate on the continent. Over time, the country has been capable to develop a diversified economy shifting away from its historical reliance on sugar cane monoculture. Despite the small size of its territory, today Mauritius has a well-developed manufacturing sector, a favorable tax system and a network of Free Trade Agreements and Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAA) with third countries that attract foreign investors from every part of Africa and the rest of the world. Mauritius is also the country in Africa with the most favorable most favored nation (MFN) customs duty rates (less than 1 percent average) and a particularly open trade policy. The UNCTAD report  “Rethinking the Foundations of Export Diversification in Africa” (2022), noted that Mauritius is one of the countries in Africa with the most diversified economies. Its export baskets counts 3,034 products (tariff lines) being sold abroad. These characteristics have favored the development in the island of a strong offshore financial sector, becoming one of biggest and most respected international financial centers.

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The 2024 edition of the UNCTAD Digital Economy Report (Shaping an environmentally sustainable and inclusive digital future), notes that developing countries that are investing in digitalization are reaping relatively few benefits, as the costs in which they incur for deploying digital technologies are still higher than the benefits they receive from their utilization. In fact, the report notes, if on one hand these countries are becoming avid importers of technology, on the other hand the digital services they export are still limited. Moreover, exports of electronic waste still are mainly directed to these countries, which obviously has an environmental impact. Digital technologies, notes the report, are also energy and water intensive, whose costs are generally high in developing countries. Energy is needed for running them, while water is used for cooling purposes. Data centers, for instance, particularly hyperscale ones, generate a substantial amount of heat, and effective cooling is needed to ensure uninterrupted operation. Electronic waste (e-waste) instead, refers to all types of electrical and electronic equipment and its parts that have been discarded by the owner as waste without the intention of reuse. Africa is a main destination of such type of waste, as shown in the map below, while Western and Southern Africa are the only African regions that export e-waste outside the continent.

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