SEPTEMBER 2025 - Flipbook - Page 5
NEWS
Mauri琀椀us Hosts Key Workshop on Women’s Role in AfCFTA
On Wednesday 3 September 2025, a
three-day regional workshop officially
opened at the Intercon琀椀nental Resort
in Balaclava, focusing on “Unlocking
Opportuni琀椀es for Women Entrepreneurs
in Southern Africa under the African
Con琀椀nental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)”.
This important event brings together
representatives from 21 women-led
enterprises across African na琀椀ons and
50 Mauri琀椀an businesses, aiming to foster
awareness and capitalize on trade and
investment opportunities under the
AfCFTA ini琀椀a琀椀ve.
Organized by the Economic Development
Board (EDB) in partnership with the
United Na琀椀ons Economic Commission for
Africa, the workshop seeks to empower
women entrepreneurs by highlighting
pathways to new markets, partnerships,
and growth prospects across the
con琀椀nent. It underscores the signi昀椀cance
of the AfCFTA, which strives to create a
single con琀椀nental market for goods and
services, facilita琀椀ng free movement of
people, investments, and businesses.
Minister of Gender Equality and Family
Welfare, Mrs. Marie Arianne NavarreMarie, along with Junior Minister of
Finance, Mr. Dhaneshwar Damry; UN
Resident Coordinator for Mauri琀椀us and
Seychelles, Ms. Lisa Simrique Singh; and
EDB CEO, Mr. Abhimanu Kundasamy,
a琀琀ended the opening ceremony.
In her keynote address, Minister NavarreMarie rea昀케rmed the government’s strong
commitment to empowering women and
ensuring equal opportuni琀椀es through the
AfCFTA, a 昀氀agship project of the African
Union’s Agenda 2063. She emphasized
that the agreement connects over 1.4
billion people and generates a combined
GDP of approximately US$3.4 trillion,
presen琀椀ng unprecedented opportuni琀椀es
for trade and growth. She highlighted
that women entrepreneurs are central
to this transforma琀椀on and encouraged
participants to forge networks and
regional collabora琀椀ons to enhance their
compe琀椀琀椀veness on the global stage.
The Minister also addressed challenges
faced by women entrepreneurs, including
limited access to 昀椀nance, gaps in digital
and business skills, market barriers, and
underrepresenta琀椀on in decision-making
roles. She called for strengthened regional
cooperation and network-building to
accelerate Africa’s inclusive prosperity.
Junior Minister Damry emphasized the
government’s dedica琀椀on to suppor琀椀ng
women-led businesses and building
economic con昀椀dence among traders. He
pointed out the need to adapt to global
昀椀nancial shi昀琀s, including cryptocurrencies
like Bitcoin and stressed that the AfCFTA
could li昀琀 around 30 million people out
of poverty and boost intra-African trade
by about 30%, according to World Bank
estimates. He highlighted ongoing
investments in connectivity — such
as port development, air links, digital
infrastructure, and diploma琀椀c 琀椀es — to
bolster trade and business growth.
Ms. Lisa Simrique Singh, UN Resident
Coordinator, expressed pride in
Mauritius’s partnership with the EDB
through the ‘She Trade’ ini琀椀a琀椀ve, which
aims to provide capacity-building and
business opportunities for women.
She encouraged Mauritius to develop
new strategies and invest in greener,
technology-driven businesses.
Finally, Mr. Kundasamy, CEO of the EDB,
rea昀케rmed his organiza琀椀on’s commitment
to advancing women’s economic
empowerment and regional integra琀椀on
under the AfCFTA. He stressed that
equipping women entrepreneurs with
the necessary tools, knowledge, and
networks is vital for unlocking business
opportunities and fostering inclusive,
sustainable growth across Africa.
China-Mauri琀椀us Bilateral Talks on Transport Coopera琀椀on
The Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipoten琀椀ary of the People’s Republic of
China, Dr Huang Shifang, paid a courtesy
call on the Minister of Land Transport, Mr
Mahomed Osman Cassam Mahomed, in
Port Louis on Wednesday 3 September
2025.
The Junior Minister of Foreign A昀昀airs,
Regional Integration and International
Trade, Mr Hambyrajen Narsinghen, was
also present at the mee琀椀ng.
Discussions focused on the strengthening
of bilateral coopera琀椀on, with par琀椀cular
emphasis on transporta琀椀on projects.
Following the courtesy call, the
Ambassador expressed sa琀椀sfac琀椀on with
the in-depth discussions held with the
Minister. She stated that both par琀椀es were
able to exchange views on the current
state of coopera琀椀on. Talks also covered
the possibili琀椀es for future collabora琀椀on in
the transporta琀椀on sector.
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