Structured economic activity dates back to the middle of the 18th century, when the status of Mauritius was one of a French colony. Mahé de Labourdonnais and successive French governors promoted sugar cane and the timber industry, and they established the island as a busy port by way of entrepot trade.

Almost three centuries later, the island retains its reputation of a country buzzing with economic activity. Economic performance remained buoyant during the last four years with an average GDP growth of 5.7%. Whilst steadily developing its economic strategy, Mauritius encourages foreign direct investment in all sectors. Numerous incentives in the manufacturing, ICT, services, financial, agricultural, health and tourism sectors have been designed to attract investors. Mauritius is now classified as a developing country and is one of the healthiest economies in the African region.

The soundness of the Mauritian economy owes a lot to the dynamism of the private sector, which is well structured, clearly demarcated from the public sector, and present in all the sectors of the economy. The sugar sector provided the start-up capital for the Export Processing Zones, and it is the rapid rate of growth of investment in the manufacturing sector (investment grew by above 30% each year since 1983 until the late 1980s in this sector) which led to the success of the EPZ and the Mauritian economy as a whole. This was made possible by the spirit of entrepreneurship prevailing in the country, which thereby prompted the confidence of foreign investors.

The successive colonisations of Mauritius had as root cause the strategic location of the country, which at that time served as main port on the way to India. Till nowadays, the island stands poised as a bridge between the East and the West, given that many ships rally Mauritius on their way to Africa or Asia.