• The MINDEX GROUP is rapidly extending its capabilities, securing Mauritius’ first digital securities exchange licence from the Financial Services Commission (‘FSC’), and launching its second and third regulated entities: a Digital Securities Exchange and a Clearing & Depository House – following the launch of the MINDEX Digital Custodian in December 2022.

• The digital securities exchange and clearing & depository house use blockchain technology to optimise the trading process, whether in terms of cost, speed, or security, and will allow institutional and retail clients to trade 24/7, with streamlined onboarding.

• Benazeer Saidoo, newly appointed CEO of the Mauritius Africa FinTech Hub, welcomed the new licences issued by the FSC as a clear decision by Mauritius to support innovation and new technologies, thus strengthening its position as the regulated FinTech hub of choice for Africa.

• Manisha Dookhony, economist, and advisor to multiple African governments, who recently joined the MINDEX GROUP strategic board, opined that this was another step for the MINDEX GROUP to cement its objective of becoming the regulated digital exchange and custody ecosystem for Africa and beyond.

Mauritius, 6 February 2023:

The MINDEX GROUP is pleased to announce the launch of MINDEX Limited as the first licensed digital securities exchange and MINDEX Clearing Limited as a clearing and depository, both licensed by the FSC.

Having enjoyed three decades as a successful IFC, it is now time for a new vision to help Mauritius retain its competitive edge and remain for the next 30 years as one of the leaders in financial services offerings within Africa. To achieve the former, it is a clearly disclosed objective of the government to make Mauritius a regulated FinTech hub of choice for Africa. MINDEX Group’s licences set the first milestones towards fulfilling that goal.

The MINDEX Group uses blockchain technology, which has proven its potential to disrupt financial services over the last decade, to allow regulated market players and retail investors who were cautiously awaiting regulated service providers operating under a clear regulatory framework, to confidently embrace these new categories of innovative financial products.

With the firm intent of building a complete digital ecosystem for the African region, the MINDEX GROUP is now well poised to offer a digital custodian, exchange, as well as clearing and settlement facilities under its three separate licensed group entities in Mauritius.

Mrs Jessica T. Naga, the CEO of MINDEX GROUP and a seasoned commercial barrister, stated: “By applying for a digital securities exchange licence from the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius, the MINDEX GROUP wanted to give clients the ability to choose the most appropriate regulated way of structuring their capital raise, be it through a Security Token Offering, ‘STO’ (under the existing securities law framework of Mauritius) or an Initial Token Offering, ‘ITO’ (under the new Virtual Asset and Token Offering Act 2021; ‘VAITOS’), while retaining the optimisation capabilities of blockchain technology”. She added that: “Even with the advent of regulation for virtual assets, securities law remains tried and tested and still very much relevant in the exchange and capital raise game.”

Manisha Dookhony, economist and advisor to multiple African governments, who recently joined the MINDEX strategic board, opined: “This is another step for the MINDEX Group to cement its objective of becoming the regulated exchange centre for Africa and beyond.”

Benazeer Saidoo, the newly appointed CEO of Mauritius Africa FinTech Hub, welcomed the new licences issued by the FSC, noting that: “This is a clear decision by Mauritius to support innovation and new technologies, thus strengthening its position as the FinTech hub of choice for Africa.”

MINDEX Limited will be live and operational as of quarter 1 of 2023. The group has plans to expand into Africa as of Q3 of 2023.

About MINDEX:

MINDEX GROUP aims to be a fully regulated digital asset (which includes virtual assets and security tokens) ecosystem for Mauritius, Africa and beyond.

MINDEX GROUP leverages Mauritius’ strengths, both as a jurisdiction where crypto assets are fully regulated and as an International Financial Centre, to provide innovative financial solutions to global organisations, large companies, governments, and investors.

Ranging from listings, transactions automation and collateralisation, to fund administration, asset management and post trades services, MINDEX capitalises on blockchain technology to streamline financial services and products.