“AI will not become an economic pillar because we declare it

Interview: Veemal Gungadin, CEO, Mauritius Telecom

‘It will become one if we build the infrastructure, train the people, create trust…’

* “Our ambition is simple: to make AI accessible to everyone”
‘An AI reserved for specialists is not an AI that truly serves a country’

* “AI is no longer a technology of the future: it is already transforming economies”
‘Around the world, businesses are using AI to improve productivity, automate processes… and develop entirely new products and services’

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly reshaping economies, industries and societies worldwide. For Mauritius, the challenge is to move beyond the rhetoric of innovation and build the foundations of a sustainable AI-driven economy. Veemal Gungadin, CEO of Mauritius Telecom, explains how the national operator intends to contribute to this transformation through investment in computing infrastructure, sovereign AI platforms, skills development and a vision of making AI accessible to businesses, institutions and citizens alike. Read on:

Mauritius Times: The Government has announced in its 2026–2027 Budget its ambition to position Artificial Intelligence as a new pillar of economic development. At the same time, Mauritius Telecom has affirmed that it is ready to play its role as the national operator in helping to bring this vision to life. Do these two ambitions align seamlessly, and could they form the foundation of a coherent national AI strategy?

Veemal Gungadin: Absolutely. I believe these two ambitions are fully aligned.

The Government has made Artificial Intelligence a new pillar of economic development. Our role, as the national operator, is to provide the trusted infrastructure, platforms and capabilities needed to turn that vision into reality.

That ambition is embedded in our 2026–2029 strategy, where the AI & Compute Corridor is one of our four strategic growth pillars. We are building the infrastructure an AI economy requires by expanding our Tier IV-certified data centre, deploying dedicated GPU clusters and strengthening our sovereign cloud capabilities.

But infrastructure alone is not enough. We also need to democratise access to AI.

Mauritius Telecom pioneered the country’s first enterprise-grade sovereign AI platform, mytGPT, and continues to expand the ecosystem with initiatives such as mytGPT Education, which is evolving into my.t Learn, helping students, educators and institutions embrace AI responsibly while keeping data under Mauritian jurisdiction.

Our ambition is simple: to make AI accessible to everyone. AI should not be reserved for specialists or large enterprises: it should help businesses of all sizes innovate, improve productivity and unlock new opportunities. An AI reserved for specialists is not an AI that truly serves a country.

The Government has set the vision. Mauritius Telecom is building the infrastructure, pioneering the platforms and enabling the ecosystem that will bring that vision to life. This is also what we intend to make concrete at the Allmyt Summit on 16 and 17 July: moving the discussion on AI from ambition to visible execution.

* Artificial Intelligence is often spoken of as though it were simply another digital technology. We understand that, in reality, it requires significant computing power, data infrastructure and connectivity. Is Mauritius already equipped with the digital foundations necessary to support an AI-driven economy, or are substantial investments still required?

Artificial Intelligence is as transformative as the arrival of the Internet, but it is not weightless. It depends on high-performance computing, trusted cloud infrastructure, secure data environments and world-class connectivity.

At Mauritius Telecom, we are building those foundations. We are building the infrastructure, the platforms and the capabilities that will enable businesses, institutions and innovators to harness AI with confidence.

As part of our 2026–2029 strategy, we have committed an investment envelope of Rs 20 billion to accelerate the country’s digital transformation. These investments span connectivity, submarine cables, data centres, digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence.

We already operate a Tier IV-certified data centre, and this year our my.t Cloud platform evolved into a fully managed sovereign cloud environment. Building on these assets, we are expanding AI compute capacity through dedicated GPU clusters, strengthening sovereign data storage and processing, and enhancing regional interconnection so that compute capacity hosted in Mauritius can support the wider region.

We are also modernising our data centres with next-generation infrastructure and have established a dedicated AI Unit to accelerate AI innovation across the Group.

But AI infrastructure is about more than hardware. A thriving AI ecosystem also needs trusted platforms that connect people with the right tools and resources.

We just launched airegistry.mu, a trust registry designed to make AI resources relevant to Mauritius more visible, more identifiable and easier to discover. It references AI models, agents and skills tailored to the Mauritian context, from language and legal frameworks to local data, culture and use cases, while each provider remains responsible for operating its own solution.

* From your experience, what will it take to turn this vision into reality, given that the AI sector requires a highly skilled workforce — far removed from the labour-intensive model that enabled the rapid take-off of the textile industry in the 1970s? More importantly, how long will it take to train the critical mass of talent needed to make this new pillar of economic development viable?

AI certainly requires a highly skilled workforce. But unlike previous industrial revolutions, the challenge is not only to train AI engineers and data scientists. It is also to equip an entire workforce with the skills to use AI effectively and responsibly.

I welcome the Government’s commitment in the 2026–2027 Budget to invest in AI skills at every level: training 8,000 secondary school teachers in AI-enabled teaching tools, providing AI learning tools to 12,000 Grade 9 students, upskilling 25,000 Mauritians through public-private partnerships and training 5,000 public officers in the responsible use of AI. These are the kinds of initiatives that can create a strong national AI talent pipeline.

Mauritius Telecom intends to be a committed partner in this national effort. Our mytGPT Education pilot with the Ministry of Education, across schools in Mauritius and Rodrigues, has shown what is possible, and we intend to take it much further. Through initiatives such as LearnAI.school, we are already helping to foster AI literacy among educators and young people by introducing them to the practical applications of artificial intelligence.

Building a critical mass of AI talent will take time; it is a multi-year journey. But if government, academia and the private sector work together, we can accelerate that process significantly. The real opportunity is not simply to create AI experts, but to build an AI-ready nation where businesses, public institutions and citizens all have the confidence and skills to harness this technology.

That is how AI becomes not just a technology sector, but a genuine driver of economic growth and national competitiveness.

* Beyond technical specialists, what broader changes will be required in our education system — from primary school to university — to prepare the next generation for an AI-driven economy?

I believe preparation for an AI-driven economy must start early. The objective is not simply to teach young people how to use AI, but to equip them with the foundations to understand it, think critically about it and use it responsibly throughout their lives.

This is the thinking behind initiatives such as LearnAI.school, which introduce educators and young people to the practical applications of AI while building confidence and familiarity with these technologies from an early stage.

At tertiary level, the introduction of a mandatory AI module across all public universities is a step in the right direction. It reflects an important shift: AI literacy is no longer confined to computer science: it is becoming a core competency for every student, regardless of their field of study.

In practical terms, four shifts matter most: building critical thinking, so students question what AI produces rather than simply accept it; putting problem-solving above memorisation, because AI rewards those who can frame a problem well; teaching responsible use, including data, privacy and bias, from an early age; and enabling teachers first, because no education system changes faster than its teachers.  And AI should be applied across disciplines, from languages to economics to the arts, not confined to computer science. Ultimately, Mauritius will need both a world-class AI talent pool and a workforce that is comfortable working with AI.

* What about language proficiency? How important is proficiency, particularly in English, Given that much of the world’s AI research, technical documentation, programming resources, and training data are produced in English?

English proficiency remains a significant asset in the AI era. Much of the world’s AI research, technical documentation, programming resources and open-source innovation are produced in English. For students, researchers and professionals, a strong command of the language provides faster access to knowledge, collaboration and the latest technological advances.

That said, I don’t believe AI should become an English-only opportunity. One of the great promises of AI is its ability to make knowledge more accessible across languages, enabling more people to learn, innovate and participate in the digital economy. For Mauritius, the real opportunity is bilingual and multilingual AI: English for global access, French for regional and professional relevance, and Mauritian Creole for inclusion, everyday use and national adoption.

That is why, alongside strengthening digital and language skills, we are also investing in sovereign AI that reflects Mauritius’ own linguistic and cultural realities. Our ambition is to develop AI solutions that understand and serve Mauritians in the languages they use every day, making AI more inclusive and relevant to our local context.

* Is AI, at its current stage of development sufficiently mature and well understood to serve as the foundation of a viable and sustainable economic pillar, or are we still very much in a build-as-we-learn phase, where adaptation and experimentation remain integral to the process?

I think the answer is both.

AI has reached a level of maturity where it can already serve as a foundation for economic growth. Around the world, businesses are using AI to improve productivity, automate processes, enhance customer experiences, and develop entirely new products and services. AI is no longer a technology of the future: it is already transforming economies.

At the same time, building a sustainable AI-powered economy remains an ongoing process of experimentation, adaptation, and learning. In Mauritius, we are advancing the development of our AI ecosystem and building the foundations needed to harness AI at scale. This includes investing in digital infrastructure, developing sovereign AI capabilities, creating platforms such as airegistry.mu, and, most importantly, equipping our workforce with the skills required for an AI-driven economy.

Our size is also a strategic advantage. As a small and agile economy, Mauritius has the ability to test new ideas, experiment with AI applications, and adjust policies more quickly. This capacity to pilot, learn, and adapt allows us to move faster and develop solutions suited to our specific context.

The Government is putting in place major AI skills development initiatives to prepare an AI-ready workforce, while the private sector has an equally important role to play in driving adoption, investment, and innovation.

* We may reasonably assume that Artificial Intelligence — and the development of AI-based industries — is increasingly viewed, both regionally and globally, as an opportunity to propel economies toward a higher stage of development. Where do these countries currently stand in this process, and what lessons can Mauritius draw from their experiences?

The main lesson from the countries that are furthest ahead is that AI leadership does not come from announcing an AI strategy. It comes from execution across four fronts: infrastructure, talent, adoption and trust.

Global leaders such as the United States, China, Singapore and the UAE dominate through scale: massive private investment, sovereign computing infrastructure and deep AI ecosystems. Mauritius cannot compete on scale and does not need to. Our advantage is agility: the ability to decide, deploy and adjust quickly, and to focus on the areas where a small country can be excellent. Mauritius has the opportunity to become one of the more credible AI adopters in the region, provided we execute with focus, building on the National Digital Transformation Blueprint and the responsible-AI governance work led by the Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation.

That is why the four fronts matter more than rankings: invest in sovereign digital infrastructure, build skills across the whole workforce, drive real adoption in businesses and public institutions, and earn trust through governance. AI will not become an economic pillar because we declare it. It will become one if we build the infrastructure, train the people, create trust, and help real businesses and institutions use it.

* Which countries do you regard as the most relevant benchmarks for Mauritius? Should we look towards Singapore, Estonia, the UAE, Rwanda or other emerging AI ecosystems, and why?

I believe Mauritius should look at several countries as benchmarks, as each offers different lessons.

Singapore is perhaps the most relevant example because, like Mauritius, it is a small country that has built a strong digital economy through discipline, skills, infrastructure and close collaboration between Government and the private sector.

The UAE teaches us speed and ambition. Estonia teaches us digital government. Rwanda teaches us that emerging economies can leapfrog when execution is coordinated.

Mauritius does not need to copy any one model. Instead, we should adapt the best practices that fit our context. As I have said previously, our size is an advantage because we can test, experiment, and adjust solutions more quickly. By combining strong governance, skills development, and innovation, Mauritius can develop its own AI pathway and position itself as a regional AI hub.

* Looking ahead, what would success look like? In five to ten years’ time, what measurable indicators should Mauritius aim for if it is to become a credible regional AI hub?

Looking ahead, success for Mauritius means turning AI potential into real economic value and becoming a credible regional AI hub.

Last year, Mauritius Telecom launched its 2026–2029 strategic ambition: “Bridging Africa and Asia”. This vision aims to position Mauritius as a neutral, secure, and trusted digital platform connecting two fast-growing regions in trade, finance, and technology. It supports the country’s digital transformation agenda through stronger connectivity, AI and computing capabilities, digital services, and innovation.

Over the next five to ten years, we hope to realise this ambition by building the infrastructure, talent, and ecosystem needed for an AI-driven economy. This means better connectivity, advanced digital capabilities, stronger cybersecurity, more AI skills, and support for startups to grow beyond Mauritius.

The indicators I would watch are concrete: the 50,000 Mauritians the country has committed to train in practical AI use; the share of our SMEs actually using AI in their operations; the sovereign compute capacity in service in Mauritius; the number of Mauritian AI models, agents and skills referenced on airegistry.mu; the number of Mauritian startups earning revenue beyond our shores; and the investment all of this attracts.

The impact for the country will be significant: attracting investment, creating high-value jobs, strengthening businesses, improving services, and positioning Mauritius as a trusted gateway for digital innovation between Africa and Asia.

* Finally, does the growing emphasis on Artificial Intelligence fundamentally change the mission and identity of Mauritius Telecom, or is it simply the logical — and perhaps inevitable — next step in the company’s evolution?

AI does not change the mission of Mauritius Telecom; it strengthens and extends it.

Our purpose has always been to use technology to connect people, businesses, and communities, and to improve lives. AI is the natural next step in this journey: moving from simply connecting people to enabling smarter services, greater innovation, and new possibilities.

Ultimately, AI is not about technology for its own sake. It is about putting intelligence at the service of citizens, simplifying everyday experiences, creating real value, and contributing to a more connected, inclusive, and empowered Mauritius. At the Allmyt Summit on 16 and 17 July, our objective is precisely to make this concrete: to show that AI is not a slogan for us, but a year of execution becoming visible.

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Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 10 July 2026

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