African countries are taking measures to avoid being left out in the current wave of digital transformation. Apart from internet connectivity, they are also addressing employability for socioeconomic growth. 

To attract more investors, Mauritius intends to improve employability in its IT sector. In doing so, the country aims to have 2,000 additional jobs created in its IT sector in the next two years. The figure was presented by its Prime Minister, Pravind Jugnauth (photo), last Thursday (July 7), during the official ceremony organized by Accenture Mauritius to celebrate its 20-year presence in the country. 

“We are currently working to attract other tech giants to Mauritius. Based on the pipeline of projects facilitated by the Economic Development Board, in the next two years, 2,000 new jobs will hopefully be created in the IT sector.  They include notably programming, claims processing, customer support, cybersecurity, and data analysis,” the government official said.  

To improve employability in the IT sector, Mauritius plans to accelerate skills development by creating a Digital Industry Academy supported by Landscope Mauritius. A cohort of 1,000 people is scheduled to start artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and cloud computing training this month. 

According to Pravind Jugnauth, with a 6.5% growth, the country’s IT sector is the only one that has not been affected by the global health crisis.  In the sector, 30,000 people are already working for 900 firms, while 3,000 new jobs were created between 2020 and 2021, he added. 

Samira Njoya