Why is Mauritius the fastest-growing wealth market in Africa?

Mauritius is mostly known for its beautiful beaches and turquoise sea. To investors, however, it is recognised as an International Financial Centre that offers many advantages, both personally and professionally. This was further restated with the publication of the 2022 Africa Wealth Report.

The 2022 Africa Wealth Report provides a full review of the wealth sector in Africa. It includes HNWI, luxury and wealth management trends across the continent. While the report found that the total private wealth held in Africa is USD 2.1 trillion and is expected to rise by 38% over the next 10 years, the continent’s ‘Big 5’ private wealth markets (South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco and Kenya) together account for over 50% of the continent’s total private wealth.

During this period, Mauritius was the top-performing individual market with a growth of 74%. This growth was boosted by numerous HNWIs who have moved to the island over the past decade, and who came mainly from Europe and Southern Africa.

Several reasons explain the position of Mauritius among the fastest-growing wealth market globally that continues to attract HNWIs.  They include:

• Safety and living environment
• A thriving and growing financial services sector
• Rising residential and commercial property prices
• Taxation: tax rate harmonised at 15% (corporate and personal income tax), with no inheritance nor capital gains tax
• Low inflation and unemployment rate
• Bilingual population (English and French)
• A political stability, prompting foreigners to invest
• Secure ownership rights
• Well-developed banking system and stock exchange
• Ease of doing business: Mauritius ranks 1^st in Africa and 13^th globally in the World Bank’s 2020 Doing Business Report
• Compliant with all 40 recommendations from the FATF
• Strong FDI inflows : from countries including France, China, South Africa and the UAE (according to Bank of Mauritius)

• Setting up a company in Mauritius
• Relocate to Mauritius: the ideal place to live and do business
• Why multinational companies have headquarters in Mauritius?