Avinash Meetoo

Let us build a Smart Mauritius together

Archives for December 2023

Being a Jury during the FinTech Youth Summit 2023

By Leave a Comment

On Friday 8 December 2023, I was a member of the jury during the FinTech Youth Summit 2023 organised by the Mauritius Africa FinTech Hub under the sponsorship of the Mauritius Commercial Bank. The three other jury members were Benazeer Saïdoo (Mauritius Africa FinTech Hub), Vishal Ramphul (MCB Group) and Kamal Burun (Financial Services Commission).

Nine teams of young people pitched interesting ideas for innovation in the FinTech industry in Mauritius. Pitches were on topics such as Banking for Digital Natives, Disruptive Banking for SMEs & Corporates and Internet of Things (IoT) & Banking. Some of the pitches were brillant and, in my opinion, if developed further, could be the foundation for successful businesses.

It was an interesting experience for me and I’m sure for the young presenters as well. I wish them the very best for the future.

Towards Smart Citizens and a Smart Mauritius with Artificial Intelligence

By Leave a Comment

On Saturday 2 December, I gave a talk titled “Towards Smart Citizens and a Smart Mauritius with Artificial Intelligence” at the PGD Conference 2023 hosted by Publicis Global Delivery in Ébène.

I focused on the intersection between technology (including emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence), innovation and policy-making in order to create a Smart Mauritius. I highlighted the importance of generating a critical mass of smarter citizens and how Artificial Intelligence can be a formidable tool to help achieve this vision. Specifically, I discussed Generative AI and Large Language Models like ChatGPT, emphasising their applications in education and the workplace.

During the Q&A session, I addressed ways for the private sector to contribute to national long-term projects. We also discussed about how to properly use Generative AI in the classroom as well as effective methods to teach computer science and software engineering. Additionally, I engaged the audience with a quiz about the Internet, Google and Linux, even awarding a prize!

Special thanks to Vishwadev Bhundhoo, Ashmal Ramburn, Vikesh Joypaul, Yashin Soraballee and François Bredel from Publicis Global Delivery for having invited me to participate in this interesting event.