CIEL Group : Mauritian at Heart, Globally Oriented

Looking at CIEL’s global positioning today, one might wonder how the Group transitioned from a modest sugarcane producer back in 1912 to a fully diversified global Group a mere century later. Year after year, the Group has learned to identify and establish new pillars of development. It currently operates across five business clusters in Mauritius, Asia and Africa.

The spirit of entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship has always been part of CIEL’s DNA. From the founding members of the Group to the present decision-makers, we all share this sense of adventure and discovery, which pushes us out of our comfort zones. It is this approach that encouraged the diversification of the Group from agriculture to textile, in the early 1970s. Our teams are composed of individuals driven by passion, always questioning how things can be done in a better way. We take calculated risks when we venture towards new horizons for business development: yet, simultaneously, we keep an open-minded and optimistic attitude vis-a-vis the possibilities which are presented to us. As part of our philosophy and global way of doing business, we set out to identify countries with high growth potential and an emerging middle class. This ensures the best returns on investment, whilst being an intrinsic part of the population’s development through job and sustainable long-term value creation.

Solid partnerships: catalysts for success

Even though our spirit of entrepreneurship will push us towards new territories, CIEL strongly values partnerships with renowned worldwide companies: this way, we build our expertise and global network by learning from the best. Today, we can count on more than a dozen partners operating internationally in an array of sectors, from hospitality and leisure to medical care and finance, amongst others. This ensures our expansion as well as the reciprocal exchange of knowledge between Mauritian and international talents, so that we don’t rest on our laurels and constantly pursue excellence - a never-ending journey. 

International exposure for Mauritius

Through the establishment of our presence in these countries, we seek not only to look for business opportunities but to export our Mauritian savoir-faire. While we look for global opportunities, we always keep our roots at heart. We know that Mauritius, positioned half-way between Asia and Africa, is a good base of business operations. We ensure that the value of our international ventures circles back to Mauritius from profit, expertise and talent points of view. By placing our homeland on international investors’ maps, we keep in mind the future development of Mauritius as well as job creation in the
long run.

Our latest acquisitions

With this clear, purpose-driven business model, our Group has recently developed two new textile factories in India and Antsirabe (Madagascar) to expand our textile-manufacturing capabilities. In December 2015, the International Finance Corporation and Proparco joined forces with CIEL Healthcare, allowing the Group to acquire a stake in Nigeria’s leading healthcare provider, Hygeia Nigeria Limited, in January of this year. CIEL Healthcare’s network, which includes four hospitals and 31 clinics, will be the perfect medium for CIEL Healthcare to increase access to quality healthcare services across sub-Saharan Africa, instilling international best practices, and offering a wider range of medical services.  

Our strategic partners