Mauritius Telecom (MT) has launched a Strategy Document, ‘Bridging Africa & Asia Strategy Plan’ (2026-29) to lend clarity and instill confidence as part of its broader objectives, while at the same time, supporting the jurisdiction’s development and positioning itself strategically in the region.
MT aims to align itself with a broader national ambition, whose role is to support Mauritius as a trusted digital bridge between Africa and Asia while putting to the fore collaboration between public institutions, private stakeholders, and partners in the ecosystem.
According to the report, the strategic direction aligns itself with national priorities, encompassing digital transformation, cybersecurity, skills development, sustainability, and regional integration.
For more than two decades, both the jurisdiction and MT aspired to foster a pivotal regional role in bridging Africa and Asia. The document hints at missed opportunities despite the island emerging as a financial and business gateway, where the ambition is yet to be fully achieved in terms of digital infrastructure and services.
The report also discusses the fact that the regional and global players have a first-mover advantage in terms of helping to secure strategic positions in subsea connectivity, data centres, cloud platforms, and AI infrastructure, while the underlying risks remain the long-term marginalisation, arising from emerging digital corridors.
A need for a strategic ambition bridging Africa and Asia, with Mauritius at the heart of Digital Ocean, is advocated, with the telecommunications service provider expected to play a strategic role in a broader national and regional narrative.
The aim is to help position the island as a trusted digital jurisdiction, with strong governance, security, and regulatory credibility; a neutral platform for regional and international collaboration; a low-latency hub connecting Africa, Asia, and the Indian Ocean region; and a resilient and sustainable infrastructure base for the digital economy.
The Four Continental Corridors:
- Connectivity Corridor
At the core of the Continental Corridors lies the outward-facing dimension of Mauritius Telecom’s strategy, suiting the jurisdiction to leverage a meaningful and differentiated role in the regional digital economy.
First, the Connectivity Corridor serves as a stimulus to buttress the role of Mauritius as a resilient and low-latency digital node between Africa and Asia. It encompasses: International subsea cable diversification and expansion; Enhanced regional redundancy and resilience; Advanced mobile and fixed infrastructure; Integration of satellite connectivity for continuity and coverage.
This corridor will ensure that Mauritius remains reliably connected, future-proofed against disruption, and competitive as regional data flows continue to grow.
2. AI & Compute Corridor
The AI & Compute Corridor has established the infrastructure foundation required, suiting the next generation of digital services.
It includes: Expansion of Tier IV data centre capacity; Deployment of high-performance compute and AI infrastructure; Development of sovereign cloud capabilities; Secure platforms for data processing, analytics, and AI workloads.
This corridor helps to position the jurisdiction not only as a consumer of digital innovation, but as a producer and host of advanced digital capabilities supporting enterprises, governments, and innovators across the region.
3. Financial Corridor
Mauritius has already imposed itself as an international financial centre linking Africa, India, and global markets. The Financial Corridor builds on this foundation to help enable the needed digital infrastructure, suiting the needs for a modern financial services sector, in support of regulated financial institutions and market participants.
It supports: Secure, scalable digital payment platforms; Cross-border digital financial services; Fintech innovation and platform integration; Infrastructure to support regulated financial flows
This corridor, spearheaded by Mauritius Telecom, helps to enable the digital layer that underpins trust, compliance, and efficiency in regional financial ecosystems.
4. Innovation & Scale-Up Corridor:
The Innovation & Scale-Up Corridor focuses on enabling growth beyond the traditional telecom services. The aim is to support startups, scale-ups, and digital platforms; Enable regional go-to-market opportunities; and facilitate partnerships with global and regional technology players.
Building Momentum Through Partnerships
The Way Forward, remarks Mauritius Telecom, on its role to stymie collaboration through several measures such as: Active partnerships with government institutions in education, digital skills, and national initiatives; Increased regional and international engagement with technology partners and industry platforms; Participation in regional and global forums to position Mauritius as an emerging digital hub.
