The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding yesterday, 7 February 2022, in Ebène. The event was held in the presence of the Honourable D. Balgobin, Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation and Amanda Serumaga, UNDP Resident Representative for Mauritius and Seychelles.

The MRIC operates under the aegis of the Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation of the Republic of Mauritius. It advises the Government on applied research, innovation and development issues; promotes the development of innovative, environment-friendly and sustainable solutions, and leads novel approaches and partnerships, building on indigenous knowledge and data.

The memorandum of understanding sets forth a framework for collaboration and partnership between the two institutions to promote common interests around innovation and promoting initiatives from individuals, their associations and the private sector. Key areas of collaboration will include the green economy and digitisation. To promote acceleratIon towards the 2030 Agenda, the UNDP established a global Accelerator Lab, which is a learning network on sustainable development challenges. Launched in Mauritius and Seychelles in April 2021, the Accelerator Lab will complement the work of the MRIC by identifying and promoting grassroots innovators and experimentation with various stakeholders across the islands.

The new UNDP-MRIC partnership will enable sharing of data on the innovation ecosystem in Mauritius; and facilitate exploration and solutions mapping exercises, multi-stakeholder experiments and programmes. This will include the planned  Financial Literacy experiment with women-led SMEs and the  Grassroots Innovation Database initiatives for Mauritius, Rodrigues and Seychelles.

Honourable D. Balgobin, Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation expressed gratitude towards the UNDP for its sustained support to the Government of Mauritius through various innovative projects. The minister stated that “This strategic partnership will not will not only strengthen the MRIC’s ongoing effort to promote key innovations, it will also contribute to internationalize the activities of the MRIC.” He added that altogether, these actions will reinforce the position of Mauritius in the innovation landscape of the Small Island Developing States.

Ms Serumaga highlighted the mutual interests and values that sustain the new partnership, noting that it can serve to accelerate the journey towards the fulfilment of the 2030 targets. She stated that “The MRIC, with its root in research, and the UNDP, with its pledge to “leave no one behind”, including novel development financing and digitisation, can work in tandem to promote people-centred development impact.”