Business Magazine Ltd

The National Computer Board is one of the main pillars of the development of Mauritius as a Cyberisland. Though it was created since 1988, its role and its presence have rarely come in the limelight in the same manner as they did in the past few months. BUSINESS MAGAZINE interviews the two men who head this institution, Mr. Suresh Munbodh and Mr. Khemraz Mohee.

• Could you briefly describe the roles of the NCB and give us some essential information about this organisation?

The roles of the NCB are:
1. Advisory to Government on policy issues
2. Business Development – promote ICT product and service providers and assist in the promotion of the cyber island
3. Incubator Centre – promote startups in the ICT sector
4. Promote ICT in different economic sectors, SMEs in particular
5. E-Government – government website hosting, GOC.
Please see the Annex for NCB Act.

• Could you give us a picture of the achievements of the NCB in the past years?

Y2K sensitization campaign
ICT Culture Promotion
IT Coach – initiation/training to over 24,650 people in 310 centers and schools
IT School Competition
ICT Award
Internet Fiesta
Business Development (Industry Development)
Infotech
Seminars, Conferences
IT Promotion
India – Bangalore
France – Call Centre, SECA Show
Incubator Centre
Government Website
Government Online Centre
Government Email System
Security Standard
Interoperability framework

• Incubators and startups are very often associated with the 2001 Internet Collapse. What motivated the NCB’s bold move to launch an incubator?

— Our young entrepreneurs are endowed with talents and potential for innovative ideas in ICT. They need to be provided with the necessary support and facilities.

In that respect, the National Computer Board has set up the Incubator Centre with the necessary logistic and infrastructural support. The realization of the National Computer Board - Incubator Centre is a stepping-stone for the Government’s vision of the Cyber Island.

The budgetary measure to implement the Incubator Centre by the National Computer Board was announced in the June 2001 following a feasibility study conducted by Prof. Dalrup, consultant from an internationally recognized institution in Germany. Since entrepreneurship development is a priority in the government agenda and much emphasis is being put on employment and output generation, the Incubator Centre has a dual role: to encourage start-ups through various supports and at the same time using resources in an optimal manner.

• Some years ago, an international consultancy firm launched a local incubator which did not take off as expected and has been canned since then. How will the NCB encourage the private sector to invest in this kind of venture?

— The fundamental difference in respect of the different initiatives of the Incubator that have been launched in Mauritius resides in the model of the Incubator. The recommendation of the Dalrup study was followed and the proposed model of the incubation centre was implemented.

The following components are included in this model:
Rental of space with ready-to-use facility such as internet connection, email, telephone
Common secretariat facility including fax, photocopy
Technical Assistance
Marketing of the centre and of the start-ups
Entrepreneur Personal Development Programmes, including coaching facilities.

• What are your general views about the state of Internet in Mauritius?

— A recent survey conducted by the National Computer Board reveals that in just about 24 months time, there has been a marked increase in internet penetration with 23.8% of households having telephone connectivity reporting having access in June 2002 compared to 12% in September 2000. In addition, the proportion of households having telephone connectivity and owning computer connected to the internet has registered a sharp increase from 58% in 2000 to 81.1% in 2002.

On the professional front, there are more companies who have their own website nowadays and the number is rapidly increasing. On-line purchases are gradually picking up as the percentage of households having telephone connectivity and who are transacting through the Internet has increased from 1% in year 2000 to 2.2% in 2002.

Only 6.8% of internet members had conducted transactions online as at June 2002 but we are confident that this number will pick up faster in the year ahead.

• What has been/is the role of the National Computer Board with respect to the following projects: The Cybercity, the School IT project and the Government Online Centre?

— The National Computer Board has been involved in various instances at the level of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications in these projects through working groups, committees, etc.

The NCB is participating at different levels to make the vision of transforming Mauritius in a cyber island a reality.

The NCB has been assigned the responsibility to set up the GOC and the various tender proposals are being evaluated.

• Some of the web sites managed by the National Computer Board have been cracked some time back. What measures have been taken to remedy this situation and have we been able to identify the culprits?

— Since the hacking of July 2002, the NCB has reviewed security at all levels and beefed up measures to prevent future attacks on the NCB and other government sites.

• What are some of the future projects of the National Computer Board?

— There are in fact new projects in the pipeline. Some of them include:
The Government Online Centre
Technology Awareness Programme for the SMEs
Assessment of the sector – ICT Indicators
Promotion of ICT Product and services of local companies in the region, Africa, Europe.

• As the men who build up the vision of the NCB and by extension that of the country, how do you see the local ITC sector and how do you view its future in a near future?

— The ICT Sector is going to develop further because there is high level of commitment from both the public and private sectors. Major international operators have shown interest in the sector, the latest entry being SAP in partnership with DCDM. Also, the liberalisation of the ICT sector creates a favourable environment for competition and entry of new players. Moreover, training institutions are more geared towards human capacity development.

The SAFE network is already in place and connectivity in Mauritius has increased significantly. There is higher penetration of ICT in the community.

These points will favour the development of the ICT sector in Mauritius.

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