Mauritania is an excellent place for starting a profitable business venture. The investor interested in doing business in Mauritania may look at the substantial mineral deposits of copper, gypsum and iron ore. Considerable quantity of gold is also found. The list of Mauritanian business also includes ventures relating to the fishing industry. Commercially saleable fossil fuel is also discovered along the Mauritanian coastal waters. The biggest foreign exchange earner of the African nation is its mining industry. Iron ore contribute to a large portion of Mauritania's exports. The fish industry also makes a viable business proposition in Mauritania. There are a number of downstream industries like plastics, chemicals, fish processing, gypsum and building materials. The investor friendly policies pursued by the government of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania have helped in attracting much needed foreign investments into the West African country. Many government companies have been privatized. Free market economic moves are actively encouraged. More than 90% of the total investment into the Mauritanian economy came from foreign investments to the country.
The leading imports are machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital and consumer goods, and food. The principal trade partners are France, Belgium, Japan, and Spain.
Mauritania - business -- Employment
A big number of labourers in Mauritania are engaged in the construction work. While a few are engaged in road construction, others are engaged in port construction.
Mauritania - Business -- Companies
The two prime industries recorded in the manufacturing sector include a steel mill and an oil refinery. A fair number of small enterprises opened up by 1986 in Mauritania. A few of them include a manufacturer of perfume, cement bagging company, company dealing in blanket fabrication. In Nouakchott, a sugar mill was built by the Americans. It dealt in the packaging of the imported refined sugar.