At the Board of Investment
Mauriconsult is led by Mr Mohammed Shaffick Hamuth, a former Senior Investment Advisor and Manager of the Board of Investment of Mauritius, now renamed the Economic Development Board (EDB). The EDB is the government’s national investment promotion agency.
An economist by profession, Shaffick worked in progressively responsible positions in various departments of the then Board of Investment. He is well grounded in all economic sectors and fully conversant with the legislation and government policies on immigration, investment, business facilitation, dealing with local authorities, and property acquisition — including the IRS, RES, PDS and now Smart City schemes — as well as aquaculture, renewable energy and agribusiness, among others.
Permits, licences and projects
He has a strong working knowledge of business permits, licences and clearances, and of the prerequisites for starting a project. Over the years he has built an excellent professional network across the public sector, parastatal bodies, local authorities and private entrepreneurs.
As the first Officer-in-Charge of the Occupation Permit Unit, which he helped set up in 2006, he was directly engaged in processing and delivering more than 10,000 occupation and residence permits to expatriates, including investors, professionals and high net-worth retirees. At the time, every application had to be processed and determined within three working days — an objective he met.
He has also assisted in the implementation of projects including hospitals, hotels, recycling industries, textile and non-textile manufacturing units, dairy farms, fish farming, agro-processing, Freeport operations, ICT/BPO companies and real estate projects.
Policy and reform
Shaffick took part in major policy decisions on government budgets, policy reform papers, and the legislation and regulations that streamlined the business environment. His contribution was instrumental in improving the ranking of Mauritius in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report from 49th place in 2007 to 17th in 2010, in winning Top Reformer Awards, and in attracting higher FDI inflows between 2004 and 2011.
He also contributed to strategic reports, investor profiling and targeting, market surveys, analysis and other research, and has worked on World Bank assignments on the performance of the manufacturing sector.
Writing and communication
At the Board of Investment he edited the BOI Newsletter and helped produce leaflets, brochures, magazines, economic reports, sector analyses and film scripts, as well as official speeches for the Chairman, the Managing Director, Ministers, the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic.
He has been Editor of News on Sunday, a local English-language weekly, and Business and Economic Writer for Le Défi Media Group. His writing has influenced the government’s economic policy, and he has been a guest writer for publications including Diplomacy and Beyond (India) and Africa Global.
Education
Shaffick holds an MSc in Public Policy and Management from CeFiMS, University of London, and a BA in Economics and Political Science from the University of Baroda, India, as well as diplomas in Editing and Journalism from London and Mumbai.
Beyond consulting
A serial entrepreneur with wide experience of start-ups, Shaffick is an active member of non-governmental organisations and the Honorary Editor of Handicap Universel, a newspaper promoting disability rights.