Event Details


Join the U.S. Commercial Service and the U.S Embassy in Mauritius for a complimentary webinar about opportunities in the ICT, Cybersecurity, Healthcare, Biotechnology, Blue Economy, Renewable Energy, FinTech & Banking, and AgriTech sectors; and learn how to participate in the August 2024 U.S. and Mauritius Business Summit.


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Speakers

  • Ambassador Henry V. Jardine (Ambassador to Mauritius & Seychelles U.S. Embassy, Port Louis)

    Ambassador Henry V. Jardine

    Ambassador to Mauritius & Seychelles U.S. Embassy, Port Louis

    U.S. Ambassador Henry V. Jardine is a member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor. He was nominated to be the Ambassador to Mauritius and Seychelles on July 11, 2022, and his nomination was confirmed on December 13, 2022. Ambassador Jardine officially presented his credentials to the President of the Republic of Mauritius as the new Ambassador to Mauritius on February 22, 2023. His previous assignments have included service as the Director for the Office of Career Development and Assignments (CDA) in the Bureau of Global Talent Management (GTM), Acting Director and Principal Deputy Director for the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO); Executive Director in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA); Management Counselor for the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand; Deputy Chief of Mission for the U.S. Embassy in Tirana, Albania; Director for the Regional and Security Policy Office (RSP) in the Bureau for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP); Consul General in Calcutta, India; Management Officer in Chiang Mai, Thailand; and rotational assignments as Political and Consular Officer in Bridgetown, Barbados and Dhaka, Bangladesh.

    Prior to his work with the U.S. Department of State, Ambassador Jardine was a Captain in the U.S. Army and served as Headquarters Company Executive Officer for the 2/327th Infantry Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and as a Platoon Leader with the 3/8th Infantry Battalion, 8th Infantry Division (Mechanized). He was a distinguished graduate from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF), where he received a Master of Science degree in National Resource Strategy. For his undergraduate studies, he attended Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service and was a distinguished military science graduate from the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). He was also one of a limited number of ROTC cadets to receive a Regular Army Commission and was selected for the Infantry Officers Basic Course Commandant’s list as a top graduate. His awards include several Department of State Superior Honor Awards and Meritorious Honor Awards, the ICAF Ambassador’s Award for Research and Writing, and Department of the Army Commendation Medals as well as Parachutist, Air Assault, and Expert Infantryman Badges.

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  • Cynthia A. Griffin (Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs, Sub-Saharan Africa)

    Cynthia A. Griffin

    Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs, Sub-Saharan Africa

    Ms. Griffin assumed the position of Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg in September 2021.



    A member of the Senior Foreign Service, Ms. Griffin served Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the Embassy in Beijing from 2017-2021 and prior to that as U.S. Consul General in Perth with responsibilities for Western Australia (2013-2016). Ms. Griffin also served as Regional Director, Western Hemisphere for the U.S. Commercial Service in Washington, DC (2011-2013), where she oversaw the operations of 14 offices throughout North America, Central America, and South America. Prior to her Washington assignment, Ms. Griffin served as Commercial Counselor in Bangkok, Thailand (2008-2011), as Regional Senior Commercial Officer for West & Central Africa (2004-2007) based in Dakar, Senegal, and as Regional Senior Commercial Officer for East Africa based in Nairobi, Kenya (2001-2004). Ms. Griffin began her career at the American Institute in Taiwan where she served as Commercial Attaché (1995-1998). From 1998-2000, she served as a Senior International Trade Specialist advising U.S. exporters in Middletown, CT.

    Originally from Connecticut, Cynthia speaks Mandarin Chinese and French, and is proficient in Thai. She holds a B.A. in Chinese & Asian Studies, from Connecticut College, and an M.A. and post graduate degree in China Studies from the Johns Hopkins University, Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, and the Hopkins Nanjing Center. More recently, she studied Trade Policy at Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Executive Education program.

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  • Ravin Lama (President: American Chamber of Commerce, Mauritius at AmCham)

    Ravin Lama

    President: American Chamber of Commerce, Mauritius at AmCham

    Ravin is the current President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Mauritius (AMCHAM) where he is serving his second term. He was a former Vice-Chairman of the Mauritius Institute of Directors (MIoD) and has also served on various boards including the Mauritius Qualifications Authority. He is currently on the Business Management Faculty Board at the University des Mascareignes and the VP Impact Southern Africa Development at the International Advertising Association based in New York. Ravin is the Managing Director of Mind Initiatives, a Training and Learning Centre.

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  • Tyler Hacking (Principal Commercial Officer, U.S. Commercial Service in Cape Town, South Africa)

    Tyler Hacking

    Principal Commercial Officer, U.S. Commercial Service in Cape Town, South Africa

    Tyler Hacking is a Foreign Commercial Service Officer for the United States Department of Commerce and part of the U.S. Foreign Service Diplomatic Corps. The role of the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service is to support U.S. commercial interests internationally. This mission includes support for US companies with advocacy and commercial diplomacy, strategic planning and counseling, market intelligence, and partner search services.

    Tyler arrived in Cape Town in July of 2021 where he serves as the Principal Commercial Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Cape Town, South Africa. Previous assignments include serving as the Senior Commercial Officer in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, the Deputy Senior Commercial Officer in Nairobi, Kenya, Commercial Officer in Seoul, South Korea and at the U.S. Export Assistance Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

    Prior to joining the U.S. Department of Commerce, Tyler spent the previous 13 years working in the private sector including international business roles with Exxonmobil, 3M, and Ecolab. Tyler’s holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Brigham Young University and a Master’s in Business Administration from Indiana University. He stays busy outside of work spending time with his wife and children.

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  • Andrew Kelly (First Secretary, Political-Economic Affairs, U.S. Embassy, Port Louis)

    Andrew Kelly

    First Secretary, Political-Economic Affairs, U.S. Embassy, Port Louis

    Andrew Kelly is the First Secretary responsible for Political and Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Port Louis, Mauritius. Prior to coming to Mauritius, Andrew served on the staff of the Secretary of State. He is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and has previously held political, economic, and commercial diplomacy portfolios in Bulgaria, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Prior to joining the Department of State Andrew was an officer in the U.S. Army.

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  • Anjana Khemraz-Chikhuri (Economic and Commercial Specialist, U.S. Embassy, Port Louis)

    Anjana Khemraz-Chikhuri

    Economic and Commercial Specialist, U.S. Embassy, Port Louis

    Anjana is the Economic and Commercial Specialist at the U.S. Embassy in Port Louis. Her work includes supporting the economic section of the embassy on issues relating to trade and economic relationships between the U.S. and Mauritius, supporting the trade promotion programs of the U.S Departments of State and Commerce, and working in partnership with the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service in South Africa to provide a wide range of commercial services to U.S. businesses interested in opportunities in Mauritius. She previously worked as Deputy-Registrar of the MCCI Arbitration & Mediation Center and as Legal & Business Facilitation Analyst at the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She holds a BA in Law & Management from the University of Mauritius, and an LL.M in International Business Law from the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas.

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  • Ken Poonoosamy (Chief Executive Officer, Economic Development Board Mauritius)

    Ken Poonoosamy

    Chief Executive Officer, Economic Development Board Mauritius

    Ken Poonoosamy is the Chief Executive Officer of the Economic Development Board (EDB) of Mauritius, the leading Government agency for promoting Mauritius as an international financial center and a hub for investment and business. A graduate in economics, Poonoosamy has over 20 years of experience cutting across all spheres of economic activities leveraging on global business networks and key contacts globally stemming from various positions in the private sector (Deloitte) and public institutions, notably the Board of Investment (BOI) where he became the Managing Director in 2011 and remained so until 2018, whereby the BOI became the EDB. Notable achievements include a number of national initiatives for economic diversification and business facilitation in addition to strategic support to Government for sustained economic development in view of positioning Mauritius as a competitive and trusted investment and business location.

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