Mauritius has good news. A recent Gartner report indicates that countries like Ghana, South Africa, Fiji, Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and China along with Mauritius would capture 45% of the offshore Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) market estimated at US$ 27 billion by the year 2007.

The fact that Gartner chose to recognize and list the tiny island alongside China strongly indicates the arrival of Mauritius on the international (BPO) arena. Most importantly, this is the first time Mauritius has figured in a Research and Advisory report at the international level as a credible outsourcing location. These reports are unarguably read by the Chief Technology Officers and Chief Information Officers of the world?s leading companies and getting their attention has positive implications. But what does this mean in practice?

Next time a large corporation draws a list of destinations for Offshoring evaluation, the name of Mauritius would pop up, not least in the minds of people who would seek advisory services from Gartner but also the senior decision makers who read the report. The bigger question, however, is: ?Can Mauritius deliver??

Large Corporation are foot-loose, fleeting and dreadfully demanding in infrastructure, government support and human capital. Whereas the former two have received adequate attention by policy makers, the latter is still a matter of concern, despite some very positive indicators. Infosys short listed one hundred people and finally employed forty. This is a forty percent success rate. In India it is less than 2 % for most large corporations including Infosys. So much for people who have pessimistically claimed that Mauritian manpower is unproductive, non-committal and generally morose. Most IT companies in the country, today, want to hire and increase capacity. But unfortunately there is a serious gap in the skills available and skills demanded. Perhaps most important is the overall numbers. Discounting the churn that is characteristic of the industry, the country would require a population of at least a hundred thousand software engineers, data processors, accounting clerks and such other professionals to form a pool that new operators desirous of choosing the country as an Offshoring location could dip into and obviously we are nowhere near that figure.

Without such a human pool, it is likely that most major corporations would turn away, perhaps never to look back again in the short run. The best strategy to attract them with infrastructure and policy support would be useless when their top most consideration is human power.

By 2007, the worldwide offshore BPO market is forecast to grow to about $ 27 billion, excluding the work sent offshore by US and European multinational companies to their wholly owned BPO subsidiaries, estimates Gartner.

It would not be therefore, unrealistic to assume that Mauritius could easily expect fifty thousand jobs to be created in the sector over the short term (within two to five years) and absorb a large chunk of national manpower in the services export industry in the medium term (five to ten years). This could not only mitigate the impact of a declining sugar and manufacturing industry but also potentially provide a major boost to national income.

Over the last two years, while the construction of the Cyber Tower was in progress, another important question crossed many minds. What should the country?s strategy be to tap into this opportunity?

Interestingly, we observe that even in the absence of a specific strategy, Mauritius has benefited from its ethnic links to India and its colonial legacy in France. It is not surprising that most work in the Cyber Tower is destined to french speaking countries irrespective of the nationality of the firm. Indian firm, Infosys, is also handling a French, rather than an English client from its development cum business continuity planning center at the Cyber Tower.

It is increasingly felt that bilingual and culturally attuned Mauritian workforce can help Indian companies penetrate the European market and at the same time facilitate creation of BPO firms that focus on French and bilingual work.

A rainbow nation of diverse cultures, several ethic backgrounds and historical relationships that span three continents of Asia, Europe and Africa, can pervade and seamlessly connect with 90% of the world?s population and 80% of the developed countries. Mauritius can be a critical instrument for accelerating the globalization of Indian companies.

Mauritius can also engage Indian firms to develop innovative e-government services under a public-private partnership program and subsequently deploy them in the neighboring vast continent of Africa. Mauritian geopolitical and economic interests in the region would not only help Indian firms expand their markets in these countries, but also serve as a bridge into the Francophone Africa.

A tripartite Franco-Indo-Mauritius initiative could help Africa leapfrog into a world of prosperity while at the same time serving individual economic interests and the interest of the entire African continent.

The positive reality of Cyber Island is manifesting after a frustrating start. The challenge however is not just creating sustainable economic gain for Mauritius, but the realization of national unity, freedom from corruption, equity of opportunity, elimination of poverty and inclusive societal development ? the overarching promise of technology.

<B>Baljinder Sharma

[email protected]</B>