Fact of the Month

In Mauritius, inland transportation is free for students, the disabled and seniors (residents and tourists alike).

Feature of the Month: Mauritius

Lying off the coast of Africa in the southwest Indian Ocean, the island nation of Mauritius had been uninhabited up until the 1600s, when it was settled by Dutch explorers. After the Dutch left, control of the island shifted between France and Britain, with Britain eventually attaining undisputed rule. Mauritius gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1968, and since then has slowly evolved into its current position as one of the most successful and competitive economies in Africa. Like most developing economies, Mauritius began as a low-income agriculturally-based economy. Today, Mauritius stands as a middle-income diversified economy with burgeoning industrial, financial, and tourism sectors. One of the main factors attributed to this growth is ease of foreign investment. A transparent and well-defined investment code and legal system has paid off, making Mauritius the 17th highest rated country in the world for ease of doing business, and the highest rated in Africa. Additionally, improvements to freedom from corruption and labor freedom led to its naming as the 12th freest economy in the world. The chief industries of contemporary Mauritius are its textile and sugar industries, and recent movements have been undertaken to modernize these already robust industries. To further diversify the economic base and generate sustainable growth, the government is actively encouraging growth in the land-based oceanic industry, hospitality and property development, healthcare and biomedical industry, agro-processing and biotechnology, information technology, and renewable energy.

From the globalEDGE Blog

Recently, the European Union signed its largest aid deal with Mauritius yet (93 million Euros, to be exact). The aim of the package is to serve as a means to social and economic reform for the island nation. The timing of the deal couldn’t have been better. Only three days earlier, Mauritius’s Minister of Education and Human Resources expressed his nation’s desire to expand and modernize its textile industry. What implications might these events have on current and potential investors, and the textile industry as a whole?

Read more on the globalEDGE Blog!

 

Featured Resources

Database of International Business Statistics
The globalEDGE Database of International Business Statistics (DIBS) is a comprehensive source of statistical data. 2,460 fields of data are offered, which can be accessed across specified years and countries. Interested academics (i.e., students, faculty, and researchers affiliated with a higher education institution, government agency, or think tank) may download data free of charge. The only requirements are that you register on globalEDGE using an institutional (.edu or .gov) email address and provide a description of the study you are conducting using DIBS (each time you download data).
Category: Statistical Data Sources

Centre for Intercultural Learning
The Centre for Intercultural Learning (Canada Foreign Affairs) focuses on fine-tuning intercultural skills vital to a successful international experience. The Centre has created over one hundred “Cultural Insights” providing a local and Canadian prospective on culture for countries all over the world. Also available in French.
Category: Culture

For a more comprehensive list of resources, check out globalEDGE's Resource Desk!

Featured Academy

Multinational Logistics
The Multinational Logistics module informs one of the circumstances dealing with the following: what logistics and supply chain are and how they differ domestically and internationally; the types of issues that are involved with international transportation; international inventory matters; warehousing and product storage topics and how international logistics augments these; and the management issues that multinational logistics creates.
Category: Online Course Modules

Greek: BBC Languages Greek
Provided by the BBC, this resource for learning Greek provides videos, snapshots, activities, and phrases that people in sales, hotel/catering, travel/tourism, and engineering use in their everyday work lives. Each situation is taught using images and sound bites of real people conversing. Audio needs Real Player to function.
Category: Business Language Guides

For more links to academy resources, check out our Academy Page on globalEDGE!

globalEDGE Business Review

"Knowledge in global supply chains"
By: Tomas Hult
Despite the importance of supply chains to firms, we know little about the intangible aspects of why some global supply chains excel while others struggle. The fit among strategy and knowledge elements is a key determinant of global supply chain performance. But, which knowledge elements should be stressed by which firms?

If you wish to share your expertise on an issue in international business, visit our gBR Homepage to see how and where to submit your entry.

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