Consider this. A Mauritian decides to set up a water sports company on a popular public beach. Being of modest means, he first has to save enough money to buy the necessary equipment and a vehicle. So, with oodles of determination, he goes about gathering the necessary funds and is finally able to earn a decent living giving lessons to foreigners and Mauritians keen to learn this trendy sport. The Mauritian dream? Not so fast.

Some time afterward, a foreign national also sets up a shop at the spot. He owns three times more equipment, is cogent with the power of marketing and quickly secures a lion’s share of the business in the area. The Mauritian, on the other hand, sees his revenues dwindle as he’s forced to content himself with the scraps left by his better organized, more aggressive competitor.

And he isn’t alone in his predicament. By making it much easier for foreigners to live and work here, government has made life difficult for many local businesses in a wide-range of sectors. One doesn’t hear about this issue too often because it doesn’t really affect the bottom line of the sort of companies that have government’s ear, namely the big ones. If it did, we would surely have been subjected to endless diatribes about how this pernicious threat will result in large scale lay-offs and threaten the very fabric of our economy.

Before going any further, it’s important to recognize that the arrival of these new companies on the scene is not harmful to the economy per se. On the contrary. For the most part, they stimulate competition and encourage innovation. The problem is that, in many instances, local SMEs and the self-employed simply cannot compete with the resources and, yes, expertise that their counterparts dispose of. This is aggravated by the fact that foreign nationals often choose to employ their countrymen rather than Mauritians.

So, what could have been a win/win situation has instead become an occasional source of animosity. Free market advocates might argue that we’re paying the price for not being competitive enough. Conversely, those of a less liberal bent (economically speaking, of course) might contend that foreign companies enjoy, through no real fault of their own, an unfair competitive advantage. SMEs and the self-employed should perhaps think of banding together to tip the balance back in their favour.

So what can be done to level the playing field? Well, one possible solution would be to create a brand - not to be confused with the inane “Mauritius, c’est un plaisir” - that will help encourage people to buy locally-made products by locally-owned companies. This approach, which has been tried unsuccessfully in the past by the National Productivity and Competitiveness Council, has been rather effective elsewhere. Australia, for instance, did a good job with its Proudly= Australian logo.

With the help of the authorities, SMEs and the self-employed could come up with an attractive logo and catchy slogan vaunting the merits of quality local products and services. By advertising the brand on all inbound Air Mauritius flights and splashing it on billboards, they might just be able to promote their wares more effectively. And, who knows? Maybe they’ll even make us appreciate our country a bit more.