As Mauritius positions itself to capture the next generation of global investment, the integration of digital assets into traditional financial frameworks has become a top priority. However, turning strategic intent into seamless execution requires overcoming deep-seated cultural shifts and structural hurdles. We speak with Ashwanee Ramsurrun, Group CEO of ONS FinServ, to explore the practical steps the jurisdiction must take to enhance banking access, foster public-private collaboration through tech incubators, and refine its regulatory toolkit to protect and empower tomorrow’s asset managers. Excerpts:
1. Ashwanee, you noted that Mauritian banks are heavily squeezed by their overseas correspondent banks, leaving them unable to comfortably clear or entertain digital asset payments for the fintech sector. Since this is largely out of the hands of local operators, what concrete mechanism should the Bank of Mauritius include in the National Fintech Strategy to alleviate this pressure on domestic banks?
I think we need to be fair to Mauritian banks. In many cases, they are not unwilling to support fintech or digital asset activity; they are constrained by the risk appetite of their overseas correspondent banks. That is why the Bank of Mauritius should consider a clear, regulator-led digital asset banking framework. This could define approved business categories, enhanced due diligence standards, blockchain analytics requirements, and transaction monitoring expectations. If a licensed fintech, VASP, or fund meets these standards, banks get a stronger basis to support them without compromising compliance. Innovation cannot survive on policy papers alone. It needs bank accounts, payment rails, and operational comfort at the ground level.
2. You made a strong case for merging or ‘co-mingling’ our local frameworks so that traditional and digital asset classes can live within a single corporate structure, rather than forcing managers to set up multiple entities. Pragmatically, how would the FSC implement this without compromising the strict risk boundaries that traditional asset managers expect in Mauritius?
The future is not traditional finance versus digital assets. The future is regulated finance where different asset classes can sit under one credible governance framework. Practically, the FSC could allow this through segregated sub-funds, compartments, or portfolios within a single structure. Each strategy would need separate custody, valuation, liquidity, disclosure, and risk management rules. A single legal structure should not mean a single risk bucket. Mauritius already understands ring-fenced structures through PCCs, VCCs, and sub-funds. If we build on that experience, we can reduce duplication for managers while still protecting traditional investors. The key is efficiency without dilution of regulatory standards.
3. Successful global fintech hubs rely heavily on state-backed accelerator and incubator programs where stakeholders can physically sit at the same table to share ideas. For Mauritius to mirror this success, should these hubs be driven entirely by the Economic Development Board (EDB), or do local management companies and financial institutions need to co-invest to make them viable?
The EDB should definitely anchor such an initiative because it brings national credibility, policy alignment, and international positioning. But an incubator cannot be driven by the public sector alone. If it is only state-led, it risks becoming theoretical. Emerging managers and fintech founders need practical, hands-on support from management companies, banks, fund administrators, law firms, auditors, and technology providers. They need help with structuring, licensing, documentation, investor onboarding, compliance, banking, and sometimes even pitch readiness. So, the best model is public-private partnership. EDB can provide the platform, but practitioners must help convert strong ideas into regulated, bankable, and scalable businesses.
4. Looking at the three pillars —banking access, legislative alignment, and local incubators—which of these do you feel is currently the most mature and ready for immediate execution in Mauritius, and which will require the most cultural shift from our local financial ecosystem?
Of the three pillars, I believe legislative alignment is the most mature and ready for immediate execution. Mauritius already has a strong regulatory base across funds, global business, VCCs, investment advisory, investment dealing, and digital asset frameworks. What is needed now is alignment and practical refinement. Banking access, however, will require the biggest cultural shift. Banks are naturally conservative, and rightly so, but the ecosystem must move from saying, “This is risky, avoid it,” to “This is risky, let us regulate and monitor it properly.” Incubators can be built relatively quickly, but banking access will need deeper trust-building across regulators, banks, clients, and correspondent networks.
5. As a Group CEO advocating for these regulatory and structural shifts in Mauritius, how is ONS Finserv internally preparing its own infrastructure and local teams to support clients the moment these barriers—like single-structure traditional/digital funds—become a reality?
At ONS FinServ, we are preparing before the market formally shifts. We do not want to wait for the regulations to change and then start reacting. We are already strengthening our internal capabilities across fund administration, regulatory structuring, compliance, AML/CFT, investor onboarding, reporting, and cross-border coordination. Clients today are not thinking in silos. They want efficient, compliant structures that can evolve as their strategy grows. Our role is to be ready for that evolution. We see ourselves not just as administrators, but as strategic partners who can help clients structure correctly, launch confidently, and operate with regulatory discipline from day one. That is where Mauritius has a real opportunity.
