🇲🇺MauritiusEast Africa
Afric Vibes Festival launches second edition to promote African music and culture in Mauritius
via Le Mauricien3 min read
The second edition of the Afric Vibes Festival is underway, aiming to promote African music and culture in Mauritius. The festival, initiated by Ernest Lyatto artist name Leone, was founded in 2025 due to a perceived lack of African cultural heritage on the island, despite the presence of sega music and percussion instruments. Lyatto emphasizes the rich, indescribable essence of African sound and the diversity of its instruments beyond percussion. The festival serves as a platform to foster new artistic expressions, featuring artists from various African countries who reside in Mauritius, including Tanzania, South Africa, and Nigeria. Lyatto, who has lived in Mauritius for two years, teaches music at the François Mitterrand National Conservatory of Music and studies general administration at the University of Technology, Mauritius. This year's edition expands beyond music to include dance, fashion, hairstyling, and visual arts. The festival began with a DJ night at the Backstage Lounge Bar of Hennessy Park Hotel, following Africa Day, offering a space for community engagement and support for emerging and established artists. The program includes fashion shows, diverse music styles like Afrobeats and Amapiano, dance, and body and visual art, embodying an "Afro-creative spirit with raw energy." The second event, the Mama Africa Edition, will take place on July 4 at the Institut français de Maurice IFM in Rose-Hill. This all-day celebration from noon to 9 PM promises an immersiv
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by Le Mauricien.
SME Mauritius celebrated International Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises MSME Day 2026 to emphasize the critical role MSMEs play in fostering economic growth, innovation, job creation, and social development. This year's event honored the resilience, innovative spirit, and determination of entrepreneurs who continuously adapt to evolving markets to seize new opportunities. The MSME sector remains a fundamental pillar of the national economy, promoting entrepreneurship, creating jobs, and contributing to social mobility. SME Mauritius reaffirmed its commitment to continuously strengthening MSME competitiveness through business advisory services, various aid programs, capacity-building initiatives, and support for digital transformation. The institution encourages current and future entrepreneurs to focus on innovation, sustainable development, and digital technologies as essential drivers of growth and competitiveness. As part of International MSME Day, SME Mauritius organized several activities in Mauritius and Rodrigues. These included a certificate ceremony at Petit-Verger prison for 35 participants who completed a comprehensive program on "Entrepreneurship for Rehabilitation, Reintegration, and Inclusion," aimed at equipping detainees with business creation skills. An workshop on digital marketing and digital tool optimization gathered 26 participants, covering social media marketing, content creation, online brand development, customer engagement strategies, and
Must ReadAir Mauritius has suspended seven senior executives, including the Chief Commercial Officer, Laurent Recoura, following the submission of the Kroll report to Parliament. The suspensions are described as precautionary measures within an internal investigation, aiming to prevent interference with evidence. The affected executives held strategic positions in the Finance, Legal, Planning, and Procurement departments and were members of the Committee of Purchase, which made decisions on aircraft acquisitions and leases. These actions stem from board meetings on June 25 and 29, which reviewed the Kroll Middle East Consultancy Ltd. report. The board decided to refer the matter to the Financial Crimes Commission FCC and the police, initiate civil proceedings, and launch disciplinary actions against potentially involved individuals. The Kroll report, commissioned by the board, scrutinized Air Mauritius's fleet management from 2014 to 2024, focusing on aircraft acquisition, sale, and leasing operations, particularly during the voluntary administration period between 2020 and 2021. Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam stated in the National Assembly that the report's findings are "particularly serious," citing substantial financial losses, falsified documents presented to the former board, and potentially criminal acts. The report indicates a net loss of approximately Rs 1.2 billion from the sale of four aircraft between 2018 and 2021. It also highlights alleged concerted actions involving th
The United Federation of Workers FTU has raised concerns about the stressful situation faced by employees of the World Knits group, which was placed under voluntary administration in May. Negotiator Atma Shanto stated that nearly 700 families are without resources, as June salaries have not been paid, and some personnel received only 50% of their May wages. The group includes Kline Textiles, Universal Fabrics Ltd, and World Knits Ltd. Shanto highlighted that late salary payments have been an issue since last year, despite workers' cooperation to maintain production. He emphasized that the government should protect workers, especially given the rising cost of living in Mauritius. Some employees, lacking resources, have moved in with relatives. The situation is particularly difficult for administrative and middle management staff, who only received half their May salaries, while operatives received full pay. Employees of Universal Fabrics remain technically unemployed. Shanto also noted concerns about gratuity on retirement and pensions for those nearing retirement age, fearing they could face extreme poverty. He pointed out that the situation violates Article 114 of the Workers Rights Act and questioned the fate of foreign workers. The FTU plans a demonstration in Rose-Hill to protest the situation and demand government action to uphold workers' rights.