How to start a business in Mauritius as foreigner
Before you starting a business in Mauritius, there are a few factors that you would need to consider. Some of the more important ones are as follows how to start a business in Mauritius as foreigner –
| What type of business? | You would need to decide on the type of business that you can start in Mauritius. You would need to do some research on the best type of business to set up there. You can also start a business that you have some skills in such as plumbing, motor repairs etc. |
| Location of your business | Depending on the type of industry that you wish to enter, location of the business is of utmost importance. For example, if you wish to open a restaurant, some points that you need to consider are -a) Is the restaurant located in an area with a high traffic of people? b) Are there any other well established restaurants in the area? c) Is the location easily accessible for your customers? |
| Staff | Never knows how to start a business in Mauritius and what the procedure of company registration is. You would need to make a decision on whether you would be hiring staff or whether it’s not necessary. This would depend on the nature of your business if it’s labor intensive. |
| Financing | Your business plan would have to cover the financing of your business. Would you need to get a loan or can it be self-financing. |
| When to start your business | Timing to start your business is also important. Like the saying goes ‘There’s no good time like now’. Obviously the faster you start your business the better it will be if you know the right ways of how to start a business in Mauritius being foreigner. However without the proper research on the type of business that you wish to start, it will be like going in blind. |
Once you have made a decision on the nature of business that you wish to start, the next step is to incorporate a company in Mauritius.
Nature of companies in Mauritius
The following are the nature of the companies in Mauritius.
| Public company | A public company’s shares can be offered to the public for the purpose of raising capital. |
| Private company | A private company’s shares are not offered to the public. This type of company can’t have more than 25 shareholders. |
| Partnerships | A partnership comprises of at least 2 partners whereby the terms are governed by a Partnership Agreement. The liability of each partner is also limited to its share in the company unless otherwise stated in the Partnership Agreement. |
| Limited partnerships | This type of partnership arrangement is governed by the Limited Partnership Act 2011 and the Partnership Agreement. There are basically 2 types of partners namely a general partner and a limited partner. A general partner is liable for all the debts of the company without limitation while a limited partner is not liable for any debts beyond what has been agreed upon. |
It’s actually relatively easy to know how to start a business in Mauritius. According to the Ease of Doing Business report by the World Bank, Mauritius is ranked 49th out of 189 countries in 2017. It also only takes 3 days to incorporate a company.