Mauritius’ business groups: Multimillionaires who built them

Mauritius’ leading business groups, built and controlled by a small circle of wealthy families, have played a decisive role in transforming the island from a sugar-dependent economy into Africa’s most prosperous nation per capita.

These family-led conglomerates dominate key sectors, including finance, logistics, real estate, hospitality, energy, and agribusiness, anchoring Mauritius’ position as a gateway between Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Rooted in the sugar industry, many of these groups evolved through strategic diversification, mergers, and regional expansion.

As global trade patterns shifted, they pivoted into high-growth sectors, professionalized management, and opened their balance sheets to international capital.

Today, their influence extends well beyond Mauritius, shaping investment flows across Africa and the Indian Ocean.

Mauritius’ corporate landscape remains highly concentrated, with family stewardship at its core. Groups linked to the Lagesse, Dalais, Espitalier-Noël, Currimjee, de Spéville, and Harel families have preserved control while modernizing governance and embedding sustainability into long-term strategy.

Shore Africa profiles 10 of Mauritius’s most influential business groups and the multimillionaires behind them.

1. IBL Group (Lagesse family)
Led by Arnaud Lagesse, IBL is Mauritius’ largest conglomerate, with operations spanning logistics, retail, finance, engineering, and hospitality across more than 20 countries.

2. CIEL Group (Dalais family)
Under Arnaud Dalais, CIEL evolved from textiles into a diversified investment platform with interests in healthcare, finance, hospitality, and agribusiness across Africa and Asia.

3. ENL Group (Espitalier-Noël family)
A historic sugar group turned diversified powerhouse, ENL plays a central role in property development, agribusiness, and financial services shaping Mauritius’ urban economy.

4. Medine Group (de Spéville family)
Once a major landowner, Medine has repositioned into integrated real estate, education, leisure, and agribusiness developments in western Mauritius.

5. Currimjee Group (Currimjee family)
One of Mauritius’ oldest business houses, Currimjee controls key assets in telecoms, media, energy, real estate, and consumer goods, including mobile operator Emtel.

6. Rogers Group (Rogers family)
A blue-chip conglomerate with interests in logistics, aviation, property, and financial services, Rogers underpins Mauritius’ regional connectivity. Rogers Group, Inc., founded in 1908 and headquartered in Nashville, TN, is the largest privately owned construction aggregates company in the United States. Owned by the descendants of founder Ralph Rogers (the Rechter family), the company provides crushed stone, sand, gravel, and asphalt for infrastructure projects, serving as a significant, family-owned player in the U.S. construction industry.

7. Terra Mauricia (Harel family)
Founded in 1838, Terra transitioned from sugar into energy, property, brands, construction, and financial services.  Today, with a valuation of MUR4.2 billion ($91.2 million), Terra is one of the major players in the cane sector in Mauritius. Terra, one of the largest groups in Mauritius with diversified holding in sugar, power, property, brands, construction.

8. Eclosia Group (de Spéville family)
A major agribusiness and food processing group, Eclosia owns Avipro, the KFC franchise in Mauritius, and premium hospitality assets.

9. Silverbacks Holdings (Ibrahim Sagna)
A newer entrant, Silverbacks focuses on high-growth African investments in technology, sports, and creative industries.

10. MCB Group
Mauritius’ largest banking group, MCB is central to financing trade, infrastructure, and regional expansion.