Press Release – NPQEA 2025

Réduit, 14 November 2025: The National Productivity and Competitiveness Council (NPCC) awarded 50 organisations at the National Productivity and Quality Excellence Award (NPQEA) 2025 for their outstanding implementation of productivity and quality improvement projects and their sustained commitment to enhancing management and operational practices on their journey towards excellence.

The event brought together representatives from participating organisations, along with stakeholders from both the public and private sectors, to celebrate these remarkable achievements.

An initiative of the NPCC, the NPQEA aims to promote a culture of continuous improvement by encouraging organisations to share their best practices, processes, systems, and innovative initiatives, while learning from one another’s experiences. It serves as a platform to honour the teams driving productivity and quality excellence within their workplaces.

Following a successful training programme held in August this year, which brought together 84 participants, the NPCC received submissions from 50 organisations across different sectors in September. These included 19 entries from SMEs and micro enterprises, five from mid-market and large enterprises and 26 from government bodies, parastatals and registered associations. Online technical assessments by local jurors took place from 23 to 26 September, while onsite evaluations of Gold Awardees were conducted from 13 to 17 October.

After a rigorous evaluation by a panel of jurors, the Grand Winners of NPQEA 2025 were chosen from the Gold Award recipients across three categories. They are:

Small & Medium private enterprises including micro enterprises: Ken & Nish (Rescuing a bakery business and making a difference in challenging times)
Mid-market & Large private enterprises: Plastinax Austral Ltd (Injection plastic wastes reduction and recycling projects) & Cervonic Ltd (Reducing MOAH in coled extracted tuna oil to keep Cervonic compliant and thriving)
Government bodies, parastatals and registered associations: Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-MU) (The Mauritius Honeynet Project)

“In today’s world of rapid change and global competition, these two forces are what define the strength of an economy. Enterprises that fail to innovate, improve and excel will inevitably be left behind. Competitiveness is not about who works the hardest — it is about who works the smartest, who adapts the fastest and who commits to quality in everything they do,” said the Minister of Industry, SME and Cooperatives, Hon Aadil Ameer Meea. He exhorted that to remain competitive, Mauritius must champion a national culture of excellence — one that is deeply rooted in efficiency, innovation and pride in our work. From our public institutions to our SMEs, from our entrepreneurs to our industrial giants — excellence must be the thread that binds our collective ambition.

On his part, Dr. Vinaye Ancharaz, Executive Director of the NPCC, in his welcome speech, said, “the NPQEA continues to serve as a vital platform for learning, exchange and transformation. Participating organisations have explored practical solutions tailored to their realities while reinforcing a culture of excellence. This collaborative spirit mirrors the government’s ongoing efforts to ensure that local organisations, both large and small, remain competitive and sustainable in an evolving economic environment.”

The NPQEA brings together industry leaders, policymakers and professionals to share knowledge and foster partnerships focused on productivity and quality. By championing a culture of excellence, the NPQEA inspires other organizations to begin their own transformative journeys, ultimately strengthening our national economy.

Organisations among the Grand winners will be nominated to represent Mauritius in regional and international forums including the International Convention on Quality Control Circle (ICQCC) in Bangladesh in November 2026 and the Africa Kaizen Awards in October next year.

Recently, the NPCC has been officially designated as an Africa Kaizen Initiative (AKI) Centre of Excellence during the Africa Kaizen Annual Conference (AKAC) 2025 in October. This prestigious recognition underscores the NPCC’s long-standing contribution to promoting productivity, quality improvement and Kaizen practices in Mauritius and across the African continent.

It is also to be noted that Mauritius will host the Africa Kaizen Annual Conference (AKAC) 2026, following a request from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and in collaboration with the African Union Development Agency–New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD). The AKAC, a flagship event of the African Kaizen Initiative, features high-level panel discussions on thematic areas, along with site visits to local organisations that have demonstrated strong Kaizen implementation. The conference will conclude with the Africa Kaizen Awards and the designation of Centres of Excellence. Recognised as a premier continental platform, the event brings together policymakers, academics and productivity and quality improvement practitioners to exchange knowledge, share best practices and advance the adoption of the Kaizen approach across the region through policy advocacy, mutual learning and the co-creation of African-driven solutions to enhance enterprise capabilities and competitiveness.