Recognising the importance of manufacturing to development, economic growth and job creation, the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda (CCA) advanced its digital industrial policy support through a series of capacity-building workshops in Mauritius in December 2023.
Supporting policy development
The CCA supported Mauritius’ Ministry of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives to train Mauritian policymakers and manufacturers across priority sectors. The tailored workshops also allowed the participants an opportunity to explore the adoption of Manufacturing 4.0 technologies and processes.
As a foundation piece in its support to member states, the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda produced A Policymaker’s Guide to Manufacturing 4.0, which showcases the transformative impact that new digital technologies can have on industrial development. The guide is a practical tool to help policymakers to take advantage of new opportunities that Manufacturing 4.0 can bring to their economies.
From the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence to big data analytics and IoT sensors, these technologies and processes offer significant potential to manufacturing businesses and can help to unlock increased efficiency, productivity, and sustainability across their operations.
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Capacity building with the private and public sectors
The program, delivered in collaboration with the University of Warwick’s WMG, included a series of capacity-building workshops with public sector policymakers involved in industrial policymaking as well as tailored sessions with promising manufacturers in priority sectors for Mauritius’ industrial development.
The workshops identified routes to implementing or increasing automation, improving data collection and analysis, and introducing positive organisation-wide changes in culture and approaches to digital transformation.
For Commonwealth countries, growing a more technologically advanced industrial base can lead to stronger and more sustainable economic growth, help to better integrate in global supply and value chains, and lead to the creation of high-quality jobs and employment opportunities.
The program marked the second stage of the CCA’s pilot Manufacturing 4.0 implementation program in Mauritius. It builds on a previous fact-finding study to assess the current levels of digitalisation and readiness for transformation amongst Mauritian manufacturers.
Going forward, CCA will look to expand on the success of this pilot program to more countries and regions of the Commonwealth.
