Globalisation gets a bad press in many parts of the world, but not in Mauritius where policymakers and businesspeople alike say their small island economy has learned to ride with its punches.

Not that it has been easy. Initially, “the Mauritian miracle” – 45 years of average annual growth of more than 5 per cent – depended on price and trade preferences for the economy’s two lead sectors, sugar and textiles. Now the preferences are going, the country has had to find a new business model.