Mauritius' plans on the digital economy development
The Republic of Mauritius with GDP of 13.34 billion USD and a population of more than 1,28 million people (2017) is on its way to the Digital revolution and as part of creating a new digital economy the government plans to develop the FinTech industry.
We analyzed the report from the Mauritius budget for 2018-2019 and are ready to share with you highlights, that for sure will have significant impact on FinTech industry and manifestation in the digital economy:
- Government will set up a National Regulatory Sandbox Licence Committee to consider all issues relating to Sandbox licencing for Fintech activities.
- The Financial Services Commission “FSC” (Regulatory Body for Financial Services in Mauritius) will create new licensable activities, namely Custodian of Digital Assets and Digital Asset Marketplace. This will provide a regulated environment for the safe custody of digital assets by investors and enable digital assets exchange. The Regulator will also put in place guidelines on investment in crypto currency as a digital asset.
- The FSC will ensure as well that applicants for Fintech activities have appropriate cyber-security and cyber-resilience policies and capacities.
- The regulatory framework against money-laundering and terrorist financing for banking and non-banking financial services will be harmonized and updated in line with development in Fintech.
- New opportunities for private investment and job creation by accelerating the country’s move to an age of digitisation through Artificial Intelligence (AI), blockchain technologies and Fintech.
- To strengthen the foundations and ecosystem for AI to develop, the government is setting up a Mauritius Artificial Intelligence Council (MAIC), comprising members from the public and private sectors, as well as international experts in this new field. The Council will spearhead and drive AI related activities and advise Government on the way forward.
How fast will appear the result of government innovation and how it improves FinTech activity, we will review it a little later.
Source: Budget Speech 2018-2019