US$100mn loan to develop SMEs in Mauritius

Picture Credit: Linkedin

The African Development bank (AfDB) has approved US$100mn loan for the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Mauritius, through the AfDB’s public sector window to MauBank Holdings Ltd in Mauritius.

The grant aims to expand SME business across sectors and foster private sector investments in a wide range of sectors, such as manufacturing, trade, agriculture, aquaculture, ICT and transport.

Through the support, MauBank projects an increase in its SME clients from 4,400 to 6,000, including 1,500 women and 300 youth enterprises by 2027.

This will, in turn, allow these enterprises to expand their capacity, generate additional sales and grow business operations as well as employment, including for women and youth, wrote Africa Review.

MauBank is to deliver its 10-Year SME master plan launched in 2017, a plan aligned with the AfDB’s High 5 agenda, one of them is to Industrialise Africa.

The Master Plan focuses on raising SMEs’ contribution to GDP from 40 to 52 per cent by 2026, while increasing SMEs’ share of national employment from 55 to 64 per cent.

There are more than 100,000 registered SMEs in Mauritius, which contribute approximately 40 per cent of GDP and employ more than 280,000 people.