Ethereum startup ConsenSys proposes to make Mauritius an 'Ethereum Island' to serve as a centre point for Blockchain innovation in Africa and beyond.

A team from the New York-based decentralised application startup was recently in the East African country for a three-day fact finding visit with the Board of Investment.

ConsenSys CEO, Joseph Lubin, said, "Unmistakably... there's genuine purchase into the vision of transforming Mauritius into a Blockchain innovation centre point."

The head of a Mauritian startup, Codevigor, who recently launched a Blockchain-based tamperproof ID system, eDocument.cloud, thinks the initiative is a good development prospect for Blockchain in Mauritius and in Africa as a whole.

"Consensys is one of the leading companies in Blockchain-based apps and Dapps (decentralised apps) and they are planning to create an academy in Mauritius in the near future," said Suyash Sumaroo. "This will inevitably attract more expertise in Blockchain and will also develop this know-how in Mauritius. Having private companies engaged in Blockchain in Mauritius is a very good move forward in this field. I believe that Mauritius, being small, is a perfect place to get started with Blockchain apps. Implementing and testing them on a small population is also a very good way to get started. This means that after some years, Mauritius could export Blockchain tech to other countries. Should this happen, this will, without doubt, be an unprecedented success story for a small country such as Mauritius."

However, for Christopher Bates, whose Bitland Global and WiSeKey announced similar plans last year, the move is great especially for the Ethereum community as it could affect the spread into other Blockchains, apart from that of the second crypto network with the largest market capitalisation.

Bates said: "I believe long term that no single Blockchain will be sufficient for any infrastructure, so calling it 'Ethereum Island' to me is just a way to hype Ether as if it will be the government's token of choice long term. I think it is a huge mistake to try and push governments towards a single chain solution. The next wave of crypto is all about branding, and I believe while good for Ethereum, having a name for Mauritius associated with Ether and not Blockchain in general will attract only a small segment of the crypto community and not the massive influx of Blockchain businesses they desire."

Bates had started calling it 'Blockchain island' or 'Blockchain valley' last year when the Board of Investors was looking into Blockchain solutions.

He said though he had advised BOI to brand themselves as a Blockchain hub last year, the reason he did not choose a title like 'Bitcoin valley' or 'Bitshares valley' is because branding is a key element in such an effort - especially now that Blockchain companies are rushing to Mauritius in drove.

The Board of Investors has been branding Mauritius as the future of Blockchain-powered smart cities even before Dubai made their plans public.