The African Development Bank and the government of Cabo Verde have joined forces to enhance the Cabo Verde Technology Park with a €14million loan agreement. The initiative aims to make the technology park more climate resilient and supportive of enterprise development.
Prior to this, the African Development Bank had provided a €31.59million loan to finance the first phase of the state-of-the-art technology park, which is already transforming the country into an innovative regional information and communication hub.
The park, functioning as a special economic zone, offers tax and import duty incentives, drawing ICT professionals from across Africa. It spans two campuses, one in the capital, Praia, and the other on the island of São Vicente.
In the second phase of development, the technology hub will equip itself to run on renewable energy. Additionally, it will establish two data centres through a public-private partnership.
The Cabo Verde ICT hub will also launch a €1million seed fund to invest in around 20 innovative Cabo Verde startups. Moreover, it plans to provide integration grants of at least €5,000 each to over 50 tech startups from various African countries.
Potential of the project
The project is collaborating with international universities and corporations to provide soft skills training to 300 African youth over the next three years, preparing them for jobs created in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Olavo Avelino Garcia Correia, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Cabo Verde, expressed enthusiasm for the project’s potential to transform the country into a digital nation with a thriving economy.
He stated: “Our ambition is to transform Cabo Verde into a digital nation, with a circulating economy and the technology parks in Praia being part of this significant government strategy.”
During the loan agreement signing ceremony, Uyoyo Edosio, the African Development Bank’s project lead, highlighted the synergies of the project, emphasisng that Cabo Verde’s unique advantage in tourism would now be enhanced as technology meets tourism.
While, Dr. Abdu Mukhtar, the African Development Bank’s director for industrial and trade development, said the initiative provides opportunities for the next generation of African talents to thrive within their homeland, instead of seeking opportunities abroad.
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) is the major development finance institution in Africa, comprising three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF), and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). With a presence in 34 African countries and an external office in Japan, the AfDB actively contributes to the economic development and social progress of its 54 regional member states.
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