Featuring Trudi Makhaya, Partner, BCG Johannesburg, and Toivo Hensgens, Partner, BCG Nairobi

The Mauritius Institute of Directors (MIoD) has announced a collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as Knowledge Partner for a series of high-level strategic engagements with the Mauritian business community, from 30 June to 2 July 2026. This initiative brings together two BCG experts, Trudi Makhaya, Partner, BCG Johannesburg, and Toivo Hensgens, Partner, BCG Nairobi, who will bring their expertise on geopolitics, talent and artificial intelligence.

This collaboration comes against a backdrop of heightened global uncertainty. According to the latest projections from the International Monetary Fund, global growth is expected to reach approximately 3.1% in 2026, in an environment where geopolitical tensions are reshaping supply chains and business strategy. In its “Global Risks Report 2026”, the World Economic Forum identifies geoeconomic confrontation as the primary short-term risk for global leaders, a development that bears directly on boardroom decisions. In parallel, artificial intelligence is profoundly transforming organisations and their skills requirements: World Economic Forum’s “Future of Jobs Report 2025” also highlights that the skills gap is cited by 63% of employers as the primary barrier to organisational transformation.

Ahead of this series of engagements, Sheila Ujoodha, CEO of the MIoD, highlights: “Boards today are operating in an environment where geopolitical tensions, talent transformation and the rise of artificial intelligence are redefining business strategy. The MIoD’s role is to bridge global thinking and the Mauritian reality, by making the expertise of world-class partners such as the BCG available to the business community. Our objective is to equip directors, business leaders and professionals with the reference points they need to make well-informed decisions in a constantly evolving context.”

The programme is structured around the following highlights:

• On 30 June 2026, the 5th edition of WE-CONNECT, the MIoD’s member-exclusive networking platform, will be dedicated to the theme “Leading Through Global Change: How AI, Talent and Geopolitics are reshaping business in Mauritius”.

• On 1 July 2026, a workshop titled “Seizing Opportunity in a Shifting Geopolitical Landscape” will be led by Trudi Makhaya, Partner, BCG Johannesburg.

• On 2 July 2026, a second workshop, “The Future of Work: Building Competitive Talent Pipelines in the Age of AI”, will be led by Toivo Hensgens, Partner, BCG Nairobi.

• Exclusive “C-Suite Perspectives” sessions will bring together senior leaders from different sectors around three themes: geopolitical challenges for the banking sector, geopolitics and multi-sector companies, and artificial intelligence and talent strategy.

• Strategic sessions will also be held within Mauritian companies, with their respective leadership teams.

Trudi Makhaya, Partner, BCG Johannesburg: “Geopolitics has become a core strategic variable, reshaping trade rules, capital flows, supply chains and regional competition in ways that directly affect how business gets done. For Mauritius, the stakes are particularly high: the country sits at the intersection of shifting great-power dynamics, Gulf capital redeployment, AfCFTA integration and intensifying competition from regional hubs. The question for boards and leadership teams is no longer simply how to monitor geopolitical risk, it is how to translate that uncertainty into clearer, faster decisions on strategy, capital allocation and market positioning”.

Toivo Hensgens, Partner, BCG Nairobi: “AI is not simply replacing work, it is reshaping it, task by task, and that makes talent a Board-level issue, not merely a technology or HR concern. For Mauritius, this is especially urgent: demographic pressures, diaspora dynamics and the need to attract younger talent are already stretching the talent pipeline. Organisations that will win are those that move beyond the question of how to find talent, and instead ask how to redesign work, skills and career pathways for an AI-enabled future.”

Beyond these three days, the MIoD intends to continue its role as a platform for dialogue between international expertise and the Mauritian governance community, by creating regular opportunities for its members and for the Mauritian business community to anticipate the transformations shaping the business environment.

Businesses and professionals wishing to learn more about this programme, or to explore participation opportunities, are invited to contact the MIoD at [email protected] or (+230) 468-1015.