Swiss-Mauritian collaboration to boost Mauritius as a blockchain hub for Africa
Swiss-Mauritian collaboration to boost Mauritius as a blockchain hub for Africa
Investment company Crypto Valley Venture Capital (CV VC) visited Mauritius as part of a delegation led by the Swiss Blockchain Federation and organised by the Swiss Embassyon 21-22 November 2019, which sought to build ‘blockchain bridges’ between the two continental FinTech hubs.
Speaking in Mauritius, Véronique Haller, Deputy Head of Mission at the Swiss Embassy, explained that the Swiss delegation had come to Mauritius because it saw tremendous potential for collaboration between the two countries in relation to blockchain. She highlighted that both “Switzerland in Europe and Mauritius in Africa are seen as leaders to enable research and innovation to translate into business”, and that both countries shared a “hardworking and confident spirit”.
Mathias Ruch, Founder and CEO of CV VC, presented CV VC’s approach to creating a blockchain technology ecosystem for Africa at three seminars with the participation of leading stakeholders from Mauritius. The first seminar was held on 21 November at Hennessy Park Hotel, in collaboration with the Swiss Embassy and the Economic Development Board of Mauritius, and the second was held on 22 November at the University of Mauritius. The events were supported by a number of actors from Switzerland including the Swiss Blockchain Federation, Swiss Global Enterprise and the Cardano Foundation. A third seminar was organised at the African Leadership College during the visit.
Commenting on the visit, Mathias Ruch, said: “My visit to Mauritius has shown me that there is a strong will to use technology as a driving force for progress across the continent. Like Switzerland in Europe, which is home to over 800 companies active in the blockchain arena, Mauritius has the potential to emerge as a leading hub in Africa for the development of a blockchain ecosystem, with the necessary framework, infrastructure, talent and capital for this to thrive.”
“At CV VC, we have become an important and renowned institution for regional and international startups, and we have already taken our first steps in Africa through our CV Labs Incubation Program, where we have invested in two blockchain startups with South African roots. We want to do our part and contribute to a growing and flourishing blockchain ecosystem in Africa by supporting entrepreneurs with great ideas and giving them a chance to focus on the development of their ideas and products. We believe that innovation based on blockchain technology knows no borders and we are excited about the opportunities to build the ecosystem from Mauritius.”
With a view to reinforcing its role in developing the blockchain ecosystem, CV VC is currently evaluating the potential establishment of a CV VC African Chapter as a private sector initiative which would seek to establish a blockchain hub in Mauritius for the whole of Africa, as an important financial and scientific hub.
* Published in print edition on 6 December 2019
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