Irshad Mallam-Hassam, Managing Director of Realign Consulting: “The Budget lacks bold measures to develop AI in Mauritius”

With the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the business world, Irshad Mallam-Hassam is of the view that the Budget lacks key measures to develop the potential of the technology. He pointed out that AI has been around for over 10 years globally, but has only recently come into vogue in Mauritius. “We are behind and the Budget should have given an opportunity to catch up,” he said.

He said that the Minister of Finance mainly talked about AI in the field of health. ” It's a very good initiative. But I think there is greater potential to leverage AI in other areas as well,” he said. Regarding the extent to which training courses involving AI will be eligible for increased reimbursement of 90%, he believes that this is not enough. As for the announcement of a national “AI-for-ALL” campaign to encourage the use of AI tools in schools, universities, businesses and among the general public, he expressed reservations. He recalled that in the past there were several campaigns through caravans which aimed to promote the use of technological tools among the population. “But these campaigns have not really borne fruit. And adopting the same policy will not bring much,” he lamented. However, he welcomed the government's commitment to accelerate the implementation of e-Gate and e-Passport. “It is a very good initiative in the direction of a modern country,” he added.

The latter expected a set of bold and ambitious measures that would attract foreign companies to operate in the IT sector in Mauritius.

“With COVID, we learned that we can work remotely, so there are a lot of opportunities that can be exploited. But for this to happen, an effort must be made by the government. Unfortunately, the Budget lacks these measures. »

The Managing Director of Realign Consulting also regretted the lack of measures in the 2024-25 Budget to retain young people in the country. “The government funds education from a young age through university. But it is a shame to see that it is other countries that benefit from our young talents,” he maintained. According to him, the Budget should have brought initiatives aimed at encouraging young Mauritians to work in the country.