CABO VERDE TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS Contributed by: Nelson Raposo Bernardo, Joana Andrade Correia, Manuel Esteves de Albuquerque and Mafalda Contumélias Batista, Raposo Bernardo & Associados
ple, in the cold chain for perishable goods or in cruise tourism combined with air connections). Thus, Cabo Verde’s Atlantic Blue Platform aims to be not just an internal concept, but a project with international reach, positioning the coun - try as a strategic partner in the dynamics of the Atlantic and contributing to regional economic integration in a sustainable way. Cabo Verde as a regional digital hub In parallel with investments in the blue economy, Cabo Verde has been decisively committed to the development of its digital economy, view - ing it as an indispensable engine of innovation, growth and the creation of opportunities for the new generation. The Cabo Verdean government has set the goal of raising the digital economy’s contribution to 25% of the national GDP in the coming years, in line with the vision of transform - ing the country into an international provider of digital services and a regional reference in tech - nology, by 2030. To achieve this goal, the Digital Economy Strategy of Cabo Verde (EEDCV 2024– 2030) outlines concrete actions aimed at mod - ernising technological infrastructure, promoting digital inclusion, strengthening human resource capacity building, and attracting foreign invest - ment in the sector. In practical terms, the aim is to position the archipelago as a regional telecommunications hub and a centre for innovation and technologi - cal entrepreneurship, and to create an integrated digital market that takes advantage of the Atlan - tic location, institutional stability and internation - al connections (for example, the submarine fibre optic cables that connect Cabo Verde to Europe and Africa). The Morabeza Innovation Project, the subject of the loan agreement with the AfDB approved in April 2025 and published through Decree No
2/2025, of April 30, is one of the central pillars for materialising this vision of a regional digital hub. This is a structuring initiative, with funding exceeding CVE25 million from the AfDB, aimed at accelerating digital transformation, fostering technological entrepreneurship and strengthen - ing Cabo Verde’s economic resilience. According to the decree published in the Official Gazette, the resources provided by this agreement will be applied to the development of several strategic sectors related to information and communica - tion technologies (ICT) and the digital economy, including: • modernisation of digital public administra - tion – expansion of e-Government, with the implementation of platforms such as the Single Portal of Digital Services that aggre - gates online government services, increasing efficiency and transparency; • e-commerce and fintech – creation of condi - tions for the growth of start-ups and solutions in digital commerce, mobile payments and financial innovation, including the launch of a specialised Fintech Innovation Centre; • technological capacity building of companies and entrepreneurship – support programmes and funds (such as the Morabeza Fund, financed with EUR24 million by the AfDB) for the incubation of start-ups, the promo - tion of digital youth entrepreneurship and the integration of local SMEs into the digital economy; • attraction of talent and digital nomads – initia - tives to facilitate the settlement in Cabo Verde of ICT professionals, international entrepre - neurs and digital nomads, capitalising on the country’s quality of life and stability as attrac - tive factors; and • improvement of institutional co-ordination of the digital ecosystem – strengthening partner - ships between the public sector, academia
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