SIM hosted a panel discussion on “Investing in Sustainable Mauritius”

5^th May 2022 – The start of a series of events orchestrated by the Sustainable Island Mauritius (SIM), under the Tourism Authority.

The first day kicked off with a panel discussion on “Investing in Sustainable Mauritius”, with the presence of the Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Mauritius, Mrs Hemlata Sadhna Sewraj-Gopal.

The panel discussion was moderated by Mr. Daren Moodely, Project Coordinator of SIM, and featured the following industry leaders as speakers:

Mr. Lindsay Morvan, Director of the Tourism Authority

Mr. Jitendra Bissessur, CEO of the Mauritius Investment Corporation (MIC) Ltd

Professor Theesan Bahorun, Executive Director at the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC)

Dr Michael Pompeia, Head of Business Support Services at SME Mauritius Ltd

It was highlighted that despite this great momentum and willingness to go green and more sustainable, it was widely acknowledged that the scale of investment required to implement various green economy and climate goals were well beyond the capacity of the public sector alone. Thus, the emphasis was on strongly encouraging the private sector to step up and accelerate the notable progress achieved in developing innovative sustainable finance products and services, covering both climate change mitigation and adaptation. In support of private sector efforts, the government was also committed to help address existing gaps and challenges in the sustainable finance space to strengthen the enabling environment for sustainable finance products and green investments.

The CEO of MIC, Mr. Jitendra Bissessur, flagged out some hints about the new version of the MIC 2.0 which could be of support not only to the big players now that the borders are open, but also to the SME’s into building up their resilience in the face of the numerous challenges.

Our other guests, namely Professor Theesan Bahorun, Executive Director at MRIC, and Dr Michael Pompeia, Head of Business Support Services at SME Mauritius, highlighted the various schemes available to assist and support the SMEs in their innovation pathway.

With this in mind, SIM also unveiled their e-pamphlet entitled “Applying Green Strategies for Building Back Better”, featuring further details on green financing, the existing green financing schemes proposed by the financial institutions and a e-directory boasting a few organisations offering green and innovative technologies.

We salute the brilliant presentation by the COO of Leal Energie Ltd, Mr Prakash Ramiah, who further elaborated on the various green products that were available on the market, and also introduced to the audience the electric boat motors, which could benefit the boat and pleasure craft operators in achieving a net zero emission lagoon in the years to come.

We strongly believe that these exchanges will assist in facilitating green recovery from the pandemic, thereby contributing to our fervent efforts to build back better and come out stronger from the crisis by unlocking new opportunities through green and sustainable finance.

Click on the image to view the event’s highlights.