Latest Articles
The 15% U.S. Tariff: A Reminder of Our Structural Exposure
The United States’ new 15% tariff on imported seafood is unlikely to significantly affect the Maldives directly, as the U.S. accounts for only a small share of Maldivian tourism and merchandise exports. However, indirect exposure may exist through Thailand, which imports nearly half of Maldives’ merchandise exports, mainly raw and frozen tuna. Thailand processes this fish and exports canned and value-added seafood products to major markets including the United States. If Thai seafood exporters face higher costs due to the tariff, pressure may eventually affect procurement prices for Maldivian raw fish. For now, the Maldives remains in a cautious “wait-and-see” position.
Community land trusts: a solution to our housing crisis?
Providing adequate housing is an election pledge by all successive governments. And it’s a sensitive topic. It appeals to the emotion of the masses. Countless methods have been tried and still fails to cater for the ever...
Violent Extremism: Are We Addressing the Root Causes?
The attempted assassination of President Nasheed on May 6th was a tragic manifestation of a threat that has been brewing in the underbelly of Maldivian society for decades. A threat that has been steadily emerging from t...
How ready are we for the next emergency?
It took just minutes for almost 80% of our GDP to disappear, 83 lives to be lost and to leave thousands homeless. The 2004 tsunami brought about one of the single biggest humanitarian crises in Maldivian history. Looking...
Companies of the future
When you think of mega corporations or even medium sized ones, buzzing office spaces with a lot of employees come to mind. This however, is set to change. According to Naval Ravikant, one of the most prominent Silicon Va...
Will Banks Go Bust?
The world of finance has been since its inception a rarefied space where new entrants stood almost no chance of competing with the big names that had taken the lions share and then some of the banking and finance industr...
Hologo: Islanders on the cutting edge!
Maldives has been a paradox in recent years for we are famous for our obscurity. Our resorts have gone on to win many an international award and the secluded luxury we offer has become truly world famous. We are also kno...
Leaving the grey economy
Informal arrangements have long been the norm for most things in the Maldives. From our date of independence, set to coincide with President Nasir’s visit to his dentist in Colombo to the hustle of everyday business in t...
Maldives, black swans and the unknown
It hit us one morning and within hours left 83 dead, scores homeless and a crippled economy in its wake. Though we’ve made a full recovery since the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, there is one lesson we have perhaps yet t...
Social Housing at current costs, a mirage?
There is perhaps no other issue that is at the forefront of our political and economic discourse than that of housing. A problem that we as a country have severely failed to address while it was clear for decades Male’ c...
Stripe Atlas: a solution for digital entrepreneurs
Maldivian entrepreneurs in the tech space have long lamented the inability of Maldivian banks to receive payments via PayPal. Some have resorted to alternatives like Payoneer and successfully managed to receive payments...
Taxis in Male’- The customer comes last
There are several things about Male’ that makes one long for the good old days. Taking a taxi in the city though elevates the nostalgia to new heights. Long gone are the days when it was any use calling the taxi company...