Mauritius has the potential to become a high-income country, based on its progress till date and conducive attitude towards continued sustainable development, said guest of honour Maggie Gorse, at the Annual General Meeting of the Mauritius Institute of Directors (MIoD).

The MIoD held its Annual General Meeting yesterday, September 25, 2014 at the Hennessy Park Hotel, Ebène, in the presence of a large number of MIoD members.

Maggie Gorse is Managing Director of Verlion Pte Limited, an international consulting and executive training company located in Singapore, and was present at the MIoD AGM as the guest of honour at the event.

She added that, in a high-income country, both agriculture and industry show a downward trend, but GDP per capita grows on the back of a surge in services.

Her keynote presentation was on the theme ‘Boosting profitability through competitiveness and innovation.’

“While worldwide economies experienced upheaval and change during the economic crisis, what is the responsibility of the directors to their companies, and their country?” asked Maggie Gorse.

During her presentation, she discussed some of the great transformations of business leaders, which contributed to a sea change in how they managed their companies, and she also considered macroeconomic objectives that will help to ensure economic recovery and sustainable growth.

She showed company directors the major role that they could play in the economic development of their country through innovative business models that try to satisfy the needs of people at the bottom of the pyramid.

According to her, a successful country is measured by the GDP per capita; GDP growth; export volumes and manufacturing capabilities.

In addition, she encouraged directors of Mauritian companies to adopt four key measures for economic growth of a nation, namely service-orientation; human resource upskilling; internationally-focused development; and innovation-driven growth.

Besides, the Annual General Meeting also served as the platform to present the second annual report by the MIoD that was prepared in line with the latest best practice of integrated reporting.

The document was realised with the help of Ecological Living in Action (ELIA), which has, since 2008, been accompanying the MIoD to measure its ecological footprint.

Again, for this year, the MIoD obtained the covered certification of GRI, Global Reporting Institute, the body that has as its mission the development of the global instruction framework for sustainable development.

This report aims at providing a transparent and straightforward summary of the social, economic and environmental impacts ensuing from activities, commitments and best practices.

Pierre Dinan, outgoing president of the Directors’ Forum, launched the third publication of the Directors’ Forum entitled ‘Engaging with shareholders – A guide for Boards’ in the second half of the general meeting.

“With the publication of this new integrated annual report, MIoD continues to demonstrate its commitment towards Mauritian enterprises championing the cause of transparent, demanding and rigorous management, which are essential for good governance,” declared James Benoit, president of the Board of directors of the MIoD.

The MIoD contributes to considerable progress on the corporate governance front in Mauritian companies due to the respect it commands for the quality of its recommendations, as well as the high standards of the trainings it provides.

-By Marie-Lorry Coret and Cecilia Samoisi

Image (Cecilia Samoisi): A successful country is measured by the GDP per capita; GDP growth; export volumes and manufacturing capabilities, said guest of honour Maggie Gorse, at the Annual General Meeting of the Mauritius Institute of Directors (MIoD).

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