Re: Startup scene in Mauritius

From: Stephen Naicken <stephennaicken_at_gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 2016 22:52:46 +0400

On 29 December 2015 at 22:14, Suyash Sumaroo <suyash_at_codevigor.com> wrote:

>
>> Some of the technical details can be found here [1] [2].
>>
> I am currently going over the papers and will get back to you if I need
> any details, if ok with you of course.
>

​That's fine. I'm happy to answer any questions.​



>
>> Whilst the University had clearly defined policies and structures (e.g
>> Sussex IP [3] and the Innovation Centre [4]) in place to assist with the
>> process, there was still a short negotiation period before the details were
>> finalised.
>>
> This is actually what is so lacking in Mauritius - processes to ease these
> kind of ventures. Unfortunately, I do not think that this is going to
> happen soon enough.
>

​Whilst I tend to agree with you, it would be good to know why you don't
think this will happen anytime soon.



>
>> Personally, I think that seed funding is nearly non-existent in
> Mauritius. I do not even expect or try to secure any seed funding. My aim
> currently to fund my present projects but 2 of the private institutions I
> went to see for investment want the service to start making money first and
> then they might consider investment, :-/
>
​
S
o either they didn't want to invest, but didn't want to be upfront about
this, or they ​are not interested in early stage financing of startups.

​Self-financing is, in my opinion, a good thing. You are not restrained by
any investor and any direction he or she wants you to follow. I'd
recommend that you read ReWork [1], a book that I think would be relevant
to many Mauritian startups given the constrained environment they operate
in.



> I think what you shared here is very interesting. I would really like to
> learn a bit more from your experience. The ways to apply this experience
> will surely be different in Mauritius but I think that we can benefit from
> this kind of knowledge and experience. I also hope that we can share on our
> end too.
>
>
>>
>
​Sure. I've always wanted to see what goes on at the Ebene Accelerator, so
I might try to reach out to them. If not, I think I'll probably drop by a
​MSCC Code and Coffee meetup later this month, and that might be good
opportunity/environment to meet with you and others who may be interested.
I'll let you know nearer the time.

​[1] https://37signals.com/rework/â€


​Regards,​


-- 
Dr. Stephen Naicken, BSc (Sussex), MRes (Sussex), Ph.D (Sussex)
Visiting Research Fellow
Department of Informatics
University of Sussex
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/snaicken
Twitter: _at_stephennaicken
Received on Sun Jan 03 2016 - 18:53:42 PST

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