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The Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC) is the government body responsible for advising on and funding applied research, innovation, and research-and-development activity in Mauritius. Established as a corporate body on 1 September 2019 and operating under the Ministry of Tertiary Education, Science and Research, MRIC replaced Mauritius’s earlier research-funding structure with a single dedicated council carrying its own portfolio of grant schemes. For researchers and institutions evaluating Mauritius as a funding source, MRIC — not a university or ministry department directly — is the body to apply to.
What MRIC Is
MRIC acts as the apex body advising the Mauritian government on applied research, innovation, and research-and-development policy, while also directly administering competitive grant funding. It sits under the Ministry of Tertiary Education, Science and Research, distinguishing it from bodies in some peer jurisdictions where research funding and higher-education policy are split across separate ministries. MRIC funds run through periodic Calls for Proposals rather than a continuously open general-application window, so timing an application to an active call matters.
MRIC’s Grant Schemes
MRIC administers several distinct funding schemes, each targeting a different stage or type of research and innovation activity:
- Collaborative Research and Innovation Grant Scheme (CRIGS) — funds a Mauritian company partnering with a local academic, research, or tertiary-education institution on an innovative, collaborative R&D project with commercial potential, aimed at strengthening research–industry collaboration.
- Innovation Boost Grant (IBG) — supports shorter-term innovative projects within specific thematic areas MRIC designates per call.
- Proof of Concept Scheme — funds early-stage validation of a research idea’s technical or commercial feasibility, ahead of a larger development grant.
- Pole of Innovation Grant Scheme — aims to grow the economic impact of research and innovation by supporting the creation of innovative products, services, and goods through advanced research and partnerships.
- Research and Innovation Bridges — supports collaborative projects connecting Mauritian researchers/institutions with international partners.
- Social Innovation Research Grant Scheme — funds research and innovation projects addressing social challenges specifically.
- Rodrigues R&I Grant Scheme — a scheme specific to Rodrigues, the outer island forming part of the Republic of Mauritius, ensuring the fund’s reach extends beyond the main island.
Alongside these grant schemes, MRIC also runs a National SME Incubator Scheme, an Intellectual Property Promotion Scheme to help researchers and firms protect IP arising from funded work, R&D taxation incentives, and the National Innovator Hall of Fame, which recognizes individual innovators rather than funding projects directly.
How to Apply
MRIC accepts grant applications through its website (mric.mu) under an active Call for Proposals — applicants should confirm which schemes are open under the current call before preparing a submission, since MRIC does not run every scheme continuously. Applicants for schemes like CRIGS should expect to demonstrate a genuine local-company/local-institution partnership as an eligibility requirement, not just a general research proposal. MRIC’s contact details for grant queries are published on its site ([email protected]).
MRIC in Context
MRIC is a comparatively well-established national research-innovation funder relative to some peer bodies elsewhere on the African continent and in the wider Indian Ocean region that are newer or still standing up their operating structure — see, for comparison, Botswana’s newly established BNRF and Ghana’s National Research Fund. For the broader landscape of national and international research-funding structures, see this site’s grants management pillar.
Frequently Asked Questions
What ministry does MRIC operate under?
MRIC operates under Mauritius’s Ministry of Tertiary Education, Science and Research.
When was MRIC established?
MRIC was set up as a corporate body on 1 September 2019.
Can international researchers apply to MRIC grant schemes?
Several MRIC schemes, including Research and Innovation Bridges, are specifically structured around collaboration with international partners; others, like the Collaborative Research and Innovation Grant Scheme, require a Mauritian company and a local academic/research institution as the core applicants. Eligibility varies by scheme and by call, so confirm the specific terms of the active Call for Proposals directly with MRIC before applying.
Does MRIC fund basic research or only applied/commercial research?
MRIC’s mandate and published grant schemes are oriented toward applied research, innovation, and research with commercial or social-impact potential (the Proof of Concept, CRIGS, and Pole of Innovation schemes are explicit about this), rather than open-ended basic/fundamental research funding.
Sources
Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (mric.mu), including its grant-scheme pages for the Collaborative Research and Innovation Grant Scheme, the Pole of Innovation Grant Scheme, and its general Apply for Grant page; and the Mauritian government’s Ministry of Tertiary Education, Science and Research page on MRIC. Applicants should confirm current call deadlines, funding ceilings, and eligibility criteria directly with MRIC before applying, as grant schemes and their terms are updated call to call.
