How you'd find an artisan in France
Two habits dominate in France. The first is PagesJaunes — the long-established 'pages jaunes' directory, where you search a trade and area, then find and contact businesses yourself. It lists all kinds of businesses, carries customer reviews, and lets companies pay for greater visibility. The second is a quote-request marketplace such as StarOfService: you describe your project, and several professionals send you quotes to compare.
Both are useful, but they share two traits worth noting. They are general tools covering every kind of service, and their reviews are open customer ratings — not tied to proof that a specific job actually happened. They're also designed around the French (and, for StarOfService, international) market rather than Mauritius specifically.
Do these work for Mauritius?
PagesJaunes.fr is built for France — searching it returns French businesses, not a plumber in Tamarin or an electrician in Curepipe. Mauritius has its own general directories (such as yelo.mu and local Yellow Pages), but until recently there was no platform focused on home services with verified, structured reviews. That is the gap Prouva is built for.
For a Francophone audience this matters: Prouva is fully bilingual (English and French), so you can browse, read reviews and leave your own in French — while everything is grounded in providers actually operating in Mauritius.
Prouva: the Mauritius equivalent
Prouva is a free directory of home-service providers across Mauritius, built around honest, verified reviews. Like PagesJaunes, you search a trade and area and contact providers directly — but Prouva is focused on home services and adds a deliberate trust layer. Providers can claim their listing and earn a Verified badge once their identity and business registration (BRN) are checked. Reviews come from signed-in accounts through a short factual survey, those backed by an invoice or contract weigh far more, and recent experience counts for more than old jobs.
PagesJaunes vs Prouva at a glance
How the two compare
| PagesJaunes (France) | Prouva (Mauritius) | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | France | Mauritius |
| What it is | General business directory (find & contact yourself) | Home-services directory with verified reviews |
| Cost to you | Free | Free |
| Cost to the business | Free basic listing; paid options for visibility | Free — no paid placement or membership |
| Scope | All business types | Home-service providers specifically |
| How reviews work | Open customer reviews | Computed from a factual survey; invoice-verified and recent reviews weigh more |
| Languages | French | English & French |
| Who runs it | A commercial company | A non-profit community project |
Finding a trusted tradesperson in Mauritius today
- Search Prouva for the trade and area you need, and shortlist two or three providers with solid, recent reviews.
- Favour providers with Verified reviews (backed by an invoice or contract) and, where it matters, a Verified business badge.
- Message your shortlist for a written, itemised quote before you commit, and agree payment in stages tied to completed work.
- After the job, leave an honest review — in French or English — so the next person benefits.