Strong optimism regarding Mauritius’ economic outlook, but uncertainty looms

In a context marked by economic shifts and multiple crises, including the climate crisis and wars in several regions of the world, PwC Mauritius unveils the results of the PwC Mauritius CEO Survey, derived from the 27th edition of the Global CEO Survey. This study examines leaders’ attitudes toward the transformations they are implementing within their organizations. The results presented in this report reflect the resilience of Mauritian businesses, as well as an awareness of perceived constraints affecting their activities, many of which are influenced by the CEO.

In a context of multiple crises, but also in a historic election year during which more than half of the world’s population will collectively go to the polls – including India and Mauritius, PwC’s study reveals that 83% of Mauritian executives believe that the global economy will improve in 2024, while 57% expect a recovery within the next three years. Furthermore, 64% of Mauritian CEOs report high levels of confidence in their company’s revenue growth in the short term.

The EU remains an important player for Mauritian CEOs, with France leading as a key driver of their growth prospects (40%). South Africa follows closely (34%), and Kenya occupies the third position (26%), but Africa as a whole is represented at 63%, indicating strong relations between Mauritius and the continent. The United Kingdom and the United States complete the top five countries in terms of importance for revenue growth prospects according to Mauritian CEOs.

Uncertainty, particularly regarding inflation and geopolitical disturbances, remains a concern for many businesses. Visibility is currently very low, and predicting market and consumer behavior is challenging.

The need for transformation

Multiple external factors (such as regulatory framework, technological shifts, evolving customer preferences, and competitor actions) have led Mauritian business leaders to evolve how their organizations create value. At the same time, they are becoming more aware of the need for change and innovation they themselves face. However, this transformation exercise remains complex and subject to significant barriers such as numerous regulatory obligations (81%), limited resources (77%), lack of technological solutions (60%), among others.

Generative AI is perceived as a growth driver that piques the interest of Mauritian executives. Although 68% of them have not yet fully integrated generative AI into their business (compared to 32% globally), over a 3-year projection, 77% believe it will transform how the company creates value, and 72% believe their employees will need to develop new skills.

The survey confirms the progress observed in recent years regarding the consideration of climate change by Mauritian leaders. Thus, 70% of them declare having implemented actions aimed at improving the energy efficiency of their organization.

Growth prospects remain favourable for Mauritius, with the country being one of Africa’s most competitive economies. The surveyed Mauritian CEOs share a relative confidence in the island’s economic growth prospects, fuelled by strong regional and international ties. Even though strategies vary from one company to another depending on its action plan, operational model, industry context, and competitive landscape, it will be crucial to overcome operational challenges and other essential elements for their survival to capitalize on these growth opportunities.

Positioning for change

Over the past five years, 55% of Mauritian CEOs have observed significant impacts from technological changes on how their companies create, deliver, and capture value. Additionally, shifts in customer preferences and competitor actions have played pivotal roles in shaping value delivery strategies during this period. Given the emergence of Smart Tourism initiatives in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, these factors have understandably gained prominence in recent years. Looking ahead, a substantial 72% of Mauritian CEOs anticipate that technological advancements will continue to drive significant changes in their businesses over the next three years. Changes in customer preferences remain a close second (57%), with 47% of them acknowledging the potential influence of competitor actions on their operations in the near future.

Many of the barriers inhibiting reinvention are within the CEO’s realm of influence

CEOs were asked about a range of obstacles they often confront when undertaking large-scale corporate change efforts. Despite Mauritius’ business friendly environment, 81% of Mauritian CEOs identify the ‘regulatory environment’ as a significant obstacle to them reinventing their businesses. The same trend is observed with East African CEOs, where 71% of them see this factor as a barrier against growth. This suggests that issues in this area still need to be addressed in order to support operational adaptability and efficiency. The other factors that are impeding Mauritian companies’ ability to produce and deliver value include the lack of skills in the company’s workforce (77%) and of technological capabilities within their organisations (60%). Additionally, the challenge of competing operational priorities and supply chain instability are faced as much by Mauritian CEOs as the Global and East Africa ones. However, many of these perceived constraints on reinvention fall squarely in a CEO’s realm of influence.

Generative AI

Mauritian CEOs recognise the adoption of new technologies as an imperative. Even if generative AI has not been frequently used during the last 12 months (68% of them indicated that they neither adopted nor witnessed its impact on their business strategies), there is a notable change in their perspective in the next three years, as they see generative AI playing a more substantial role in how their businesses will deliver value (77%), improving the quality of their products and services (57%), with almost half of them foreseeing improvements in building trust with stakeholders. Furthermore, 72% anticipate that generative AI will require their employees to learn new skills, while 70% agree that it will improve competitiveness within their respective industries.