Mauritius, which has not figured actively in the IT-services space, is now making news with a partnership with Nasscom, India’s association of software and services companies. The partnership between the two was signed today.

With a small population of only 1.1 million, over 8,000 people in Mauritius are engaged in IT services industry. At present, there are 185 IT organizations in Mauritius where BPO accounts for 45% of the country’s share followed by software development (20%) and call centers (18%). Interestingly BPO majors like Accenture, Orange and Infosys, also have their setups in the country.

Raju Jaddoo, MD, Board of Investment, Mauritius (left), and Kiran Karnik, President Nasscom (right)

“With this partnership, we aim to strengthen our IT and BPO sector, by inviting Indian IT and BPO majors. To encourage the investors, we have also reduced taxes to only 15%,” says Raju Jaddoo, Managing Director, Board of Investment, Mauritius. “The country has a potential to be developed as a perfect outsourcing destination.”

Mauritius is also expecting a tremendous increase in the IT workforce in the near future. “We are expecting that by 2010, the number of IT workers will cross 30,000 in the country,” adds Raju.

While the attrition rate in the country’s ICT is less than 10 percent, the literacy level of the country stands at 86 percent, according to Central Statistics Office, National Computer Board, Information Communication and Technologies Authority and Bank of Mauritius.

Though these figures seem interesting, it remains to be seen how the country would make a mark on the IT and BPO landscape.