Free business email in Mauritius: set up name@yourbusiness.mu

Mauritius sells itself to the world as a place where business is done properly: the BRN on every document, the MRA's electronic systems, licensed global business companies, hotels that compete with the Maldives. A surprising number of its SMEs still write from a free webmail address. For a tour operator in Grand Baie, a BPO in Ebène or a supplier to the hotel groups, the address on the quotation is the first credibility check. A .mu domain is registered quickly for a yearly fee in rupees, and the mailboxes can be free.

Quick answer

Register yourbusiness.mu at the .mu registry or a local hosting company, paying by card, Juice or bank transfer. Create a free OquMail workspace with no card, add the domain, paste four DNS records, click Verify and create your mailboxes. Add the mailbox to Outlook or your phone over IMAP.

Choosing your domain: .mu or .com

• .mu: open to anyone, sold directly by the registry (nic.mu) and through Mauritian hosting companies; priced in rupees and the ending local customers and public bodies expect.
• .co.mu and .org.mu: second-level forms for businesses and organisations; the plain .mu is the common choice.
• .com: for companies serving mostly foreign clients, including global business companies and BPOs; many hold both and use .mu for the mailboxes.
• French accents belong in display names, not in the domain or mailbox names.

Why a domain address matters in Mauritius

The financial-services sector is built on due diligence, and any supplier to a management company or a bank is checked before being paid. Hotels and their suppliers (laundry, transport, food) deal with procurement teams that file supplier records by domain. BPO and IT firms pitch to clients in France, the UK and South Africa who look at the sender address before the deck. Real-estate agencies selling to foreign buyers under the PDS and smart-city schemes handle large sums and cautious clients. Locally, a business writing to the MRA, the CBRD or a bank from a free address is asked to confirm the request.

Step by step: from domain to working inbox

1. Register yourbusiness.mu at nic.mu or a local hosting company, paying in rupees. The domain is active within a day.
2. Go to oqumail.com and create a free workspace with your name and a password. No card, no trial countdown.
3. In the dashboard choose Add domain and type yourbusiness.mu. OquMail shows the four DNS records to add.
4. Log in where the domain is managed, open the DNS editor, and add the MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records exactly as shown. If the registrar has no editor, point the nameservers at a free DNS host such as Cloudflare and add the records there.
5. Return to OquMail and click Verify. The live check names any record still missing.
6. Create your mailboxes: info@, reservations@ or sales@, accounts@ and one per person. The free plan allows up to 15 mailboxes with 5 GB each.
7. Send a test from webmail to a Gmail address, then add the account to Outlook or your phone with the settings below.

The four DNS records OquMail needs

• MX — host @, value mail.oqumail.com, priority 10
• SPF (TXT at @) — v=spf1 MX (Mail Exchanger — where incoming email is delivered) a:mail.oqumail.com ~all
• DKIM (TXT at your selector ._domainkey) — v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=… (the exact key is shown in your OquMail dashboard)
• DMARC (TXT at _dmarc) — v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com

OquMail connection settings

• Incoming (IMAP): mail.oqumail.com, port 993, SSL/TLS
• Outgoing (SMTP): mail.oqumail.com, port 587, STARTTLS
• Username: your full email address (you@yourdomain.com)
• Password: the same password you use for OquMail webmail

What it costs in Mauritius

• The .mu domain: a yearly fee in rupees at the registry or a local host
• Mailboxes: free on OquMail, up to 15 with 5 GB each, 250 sends a day per mailbox
• No monthly fee, no hosting plan required

Mistakes common in Mauritius

• Keeping the hosting company's bundled mailboxes active alongside the new ones. One MX set per domain; remove the host's MX records.
• Mixing English and French in the same mailbox name. Pick one neutral form (info@, contact@) and handle the language in the reply.
• Letting the web agency own the domain. Insist on the registrant being your company and keep the login.
• my.t, Emtel and Chili mobile data block outgoing port 25. Use port 587 in every mail app.
• Sending MRA e-invoice PDFs from a personal address. Use a role address such as accounts@ so the trail survives staff changes.

Common questions

Do I need a BRN to register a .mu?

Not for the domain itself; individuals can register. You need the BRN for the business, and the domain should be registered in the business name so it stays with the company.

Does it work with Outlook and my phone?

Yes. Add an IMAP account with the settings above in Outlook, Apple Mail or the Gmail app, using your full address as the username.

What are the limits?

15 mailboxes, 3 domains, 5 GB per mailbox, no expiry. Extra mailboxes are added on request without touching DNS.

Want to see how your own domain is set up? Use the free SPF checker, DMARC checker and MX lookup: they run in your browser and store nothing.