By Shruti Menon Seeboo
When the 6th India-Africa Entrepreneurship & Investment Summit convenes in Cape Town from 13 to 15 July, the conversation around how capital moves between India and Africa — and where it is best structured — will find a knowledgeable and experienced voice in Selveena Samy-Ramruttun, Senior Manager for Business Development at MITCO. A corporate, fiduciary, and fund services group headquartered in Mauritius and duly licensed by the Financial Services Commission since 1993, MITCO is a subsidiary of CIEL Finance Limited — the finance cluster of CIEL Limited, a diversified investment group listed on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius with investments across six industry clusters and ten countries spanning Africa and Asia. With offices in Seychelles and Dubai alongside its Mauritius base, MITCO offers turnkey services spanning corporate structuring, fund administration, wealth management, governance, tax compliance, and ongoing regulatory support, tailored to the specific commercial realities of each client. At this year’s Summit, Samy-Ramruttun brings a practitioner’s perspective on what it actually takes to move capital efficiently and compliantly across the India-Africa corridor — and why Mauritius, when properly understood, remains the most effective platform for doing so.
For Samy-Ramruttun, the case for Mauritius as the natural base for India-Africa operations begins with a precise understanding of what the jurisdiction actually is — and is not. “Rather than being a destination for investments itself, Mauritius functions as a neutral investment platform that enables capital to move efficiently between India, Africa and global investors while maintaining strong governance and compliance standards,” she says. The advantages it offers are both structural and practical. “Mauritius has developed into a recognised international financial centre by combining a robust regulatory framework with an efficient business environment and strong connectivity between Asia and Africa,” she says. She points to a stable democracy with an independent judiciary, a well-regulated financial services sector supervised by the FSC and supported by internationally recognised AML/CFT standards, an extensive network of Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements and Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements providing greater certainty for cross-border investments, a freely convertible currency, unrestricted repatriation of capital and dividends, and a skilled professional services ecosystem as the pillars underpinning that position. “A skilled professional services ecosystem including legal, accounting, tax, fiduciary and banking professionals experienced in cross-border structuring,” she says, “is what makes Mauritius genuinely functional rather than simply attractive on paper.”
On the corporate structures most useful for deploying capital across the corridor, Samy-Ramruttun is clear that no single vehicle fits all situations. “The appropriate structure depends on the investor’s commercial objectives, sector and jurisdictions involved,” she says. The range of options available through Mauritius is extensive — from Global Business Companies for international investment holding, regional headquarters, and operating businesses, to investment holding companies for managing multi-country African investments from a single jurisdiction, Collective Investment Schemes and investment funds for institutional and private capital, Protected Cell Companies where legal segregation of assets and liabilities is required, and Trusts and Foundations for succession planning, wealth preservation, and family office structures. Increasingly, however, one vehicle is standing out. “The VCC framework provides flexibility in structuring sub-funds, ring-fencing liabilities, and scaling operations, and for Africa-focused and India-bound strategies it is becoming the structure of choice, particularly for emerging and mid-sized managers who want flexibility without excessive cost,” she says. Throughout, she emphasises a consistent principle. “The emphasis should always be on commercial substance, regulatory compliance and selecting a structure that supports the investor’s long-term business strategy rather than pursuing tax-driven arrangements,” she says.
On the most common structural and compliance challenges that businesses face when expanding across the corridor, Samy-Ramruttun identifies three recurring issues with precision. “Businesses expanding internationally often face practical challenges rather than simply legal ones,” she says. The first is substance. “Post-BEPS, treaty benefits depend on demonstrating genuine management and control in Mauritius — resident directors, local decision-making, real expenditure,” she says. “Companies that treat this as a box-ticking exercise run into trouble with tax authorities in India and across Africa.” The second is multi-jurisdictional compliance. “A business operating across, say, India, Kenya and Mozambique faces three different exchange-control regimes, beneficial-ownership registers, and reporting calendars — plus FATCA, CRS and evolving AML expectations,” she says. The third is banking and capital repatriation. “Opening accounts, satisfying enhanced due diligence, and moving dividends or exit proceeds efficiently across borders is where deals most often stall in practice,” she says. It is precisely here, she argues, that MITCO’s role becomes most tangible. “This is precisely where a management company earns its keep,” she says. “MITCO offers turnkey services spanning structuring, corporate and trust services, fund setup and administration, tax planning, accounting, governance and legal administration, and was one of the first management companies licensed by the Financial Services Commission, in 1993 — so we’ve seen every cycle of regulatory reform in the jurisdiction.” She is also clear about MITCO’s philosophy. “Our role is not simply to establish entities but to help clients build structures that remain compliant throughout their lifecycle,” she says.
On how Mauritius is evolving as a jurisdiction, Samy-Ramruttun paints a picture of a financial centre that is modernising with purpose rather than competing on the basis of lower standards. “Mauritius’ objective is not to compete by lowering standards but by offering certainty, regulatory credibility and efficient cross-border business solutions,” she says. Recent developments she highlights include the continued enhancement of AML/CFT and beneficial ownership frameworks, expansion of licensing regimes covering digital assets, payment intermediaries and fintech activities, development of family office and wealth management solutions, and ongoing digitalisation of regulatory and corporate administration processes. On the jurisdiction’s credibility, she is particularly direct. “Mauritius emerged from its FATF and EU listing episode with materially stronger AML supervision and substance rules, and recently climbed to 58th place in the Global Financial Centres Index,” she says. She also makes a pointed observation about the nature of competition between financial centres. “Mauritius is deliberately building complementarity rather than rivalry with newer hubs — the financial world isn’t a zero-sum game; Mauritius, Kenya and India’s GIFT City each bring complementary strengths, and what matters is designing interoperable systems,” she says. The evidence of momentum, she adds, is in the flows. “Mauritius is now home to more than 450 private equity funds investing across the continent, with nearly USD 40 billion structured through its IFC,” she says. “Add the growing adoption of technology — AI-assisted KYC, faster onboarding, digital reporting — and the practical friction of moving capital through Mauritius keeps falling.”
On where the most significant India-Africa business opportunities will emerge over the next decade, Samy-Ramruttun draws on the broader perspective that MITCO’s parent group, CIEL Limited, brings to the question. “Our experience within the wider CIEL Group reinforces what we see in the market every day: the India-Africa relationship is evolving beyond traditional trade into long-term investment partnerships,” she says. The sectors she identifies as carrying the strongest momentum are healthcare and pharmaceutical manufacturing, financial services and fintech, renewable energy and energy transition projects, digital infrastructure and technology, agribusiness and food security, manufacturing and regional supply chains, education and skills development, and infrastructure and logistics. “African economies continue to experience strong demographic growth, increasing urbanisation and rising demand for infrastructure and financial inclusion,” she says. “At the same time, Indian businesses are expanding internationally and seeking reliable regional platforms.” For MITCO, and for Mauritius more broadly, that convergence represents precisely the opportunity the jurisdiction has been building towards. “Mauritius is well positioned to facilitate these investments by providing an internationally recognised jurisdiction through which capital, expertise and businesses can be structured efficiently while maintaining high standards of governance and regulatory compliance,” she says.
