The island economy ranked first in the African Index on Economic Transformation and Depth compared to 20 other African countries, according to the latest report by the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET).
However, the island, which is trying to position itself as an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) hub,could only manage the 14thrank in technology.
Mauritius is followed by South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Uganda, Kenya, and Gabon as the top 7 countries on the ACET 2014 Report.
The middle seven are Cameroon, Madagascar, Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, and Malawi whilethe least transformed areBenin, Ghana, Ethiopia, Rwanda,Nigeria, Burundi, and Burkina Faso.
Among the criteria to assess the countries, ACET took into considerationdiversification of production and exports, export competitiveness and gains, productivity increases, technology upgrading, and human economic well-being improvements, particularly by expanding formal productive employment.
Overall, Mauritius managed to come up top in all indices except productivity, where the resort island took second place, and technology where it ranked a lowly 14th.
After factoring in all these criteria, the ACET concluded that Mauritius is the leading country in Africa on economic transformation.
In its report, the ACET lauds Mauritius for its strong performance when it comes to export competitiveness (the share of export of goods and services in a country’s GDP relative to the corresponding share of the world) and productivity, in addition to human well-being.
Mauritius has emerged with top honours due to government commitment to the economic transformation program, links to a national economic agenda, cost effective and reliable infrastructure, effective planning and management and business friendly administration and procedures for investors.
On technology, Mauritius ranks 14thwith South Africa remaining a clear leader in the technology realm and others such as Senegal, Uganda, Nigeria, Botswana, Zambia, and Kenya outperforming the island economy.
The human well-being index comprises GDP per capita and the share of formal employment in the labor force, and highlights that Mauritius stands out mainly because of its high GDP per capita, placing it ahead of Botswana, South Africa, and Gabon.
According to the ACET report, economic transformation requires an environment of prudent macroeconomic policies that is also conducive to economic activities and entrepreneurship in general, particularly an environment that enables private business to flourish.
Drivers of economic transformation require a state that has the desire and capacity to play the traditional state economic roles and to collaborate with the private sector and other relevant stakeholders in setting coherent transformation strategies and pursuing specific transformation initiatives.
ACET is a Ghana-based economic policy institutesupporting Africa’s long-term growth through transformation. Founded by KYAmoako, former Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, ACET has roughly 30 core staff from every sub-region of the continent, including Burkina Faso, DR Congo, Ghana, Kenya, and Morocco. Its vision is that, by 2025, allAfrican countries will drive their own growth and transformation agendas, led by the privatesector and supported by capable states with good policies and strong institutions.
Image (ACET): However, the island, which is trying to position itself as an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) hub, could only manage the 14th rank in technology.
More business news on AfricaMoney
Facebook Comments