Cabo Verde officially announced its “TechPark CV” this week as the island nation is about to become a hub for digital services. The project is supported by an investment of 4,559 million euros ($50 million) from the African Development Bank, and aims to create up to 1,500 jobs on small campuses in Santiago and San Vicente.
In an interview with African businesses, Pedro Lopez, Secretary of State for the Digital Economy at Cabo Verde, described TechPark CV as the “cornerstone” of the country's digital transformation strategy. The park features a data center in Santiago, with training and conference facilities and an “incubation center” designed to support start-ups.
“The role is to promote innovation, attract investment, support local startups, and create highly valued jobs, especially for young people,” says Lopez. He added that the government is aiming to reduce its dependence on tourism and “position Cabo Verde as a competitive player in the digital economy.”
Cabo Verde is not necessarily an obvious location for the local tech hub. The country is comprised of 10 islands about 600 km from mainland West Africa and has a population of over 500,000 people.
However, Lopez claims the location of the country's island, claiming that the small size can bring about its benefits.
“We believe we can be a hub for the Atlantic, and we believe that being small doesn't mean that it's not relevant. We believe that being small in the tech world means that we're faster in our decisions as well, and that we can be more flexible and faster than others.”
He said that Cabo Verde is only an hour's flight from Senegal, three hours from Portugal and three and a half hours from Brazil. It also benefits from excellent digital connectivity as several subsea fibrous cables have domestic landing sites.
International tech companies seem to agree that the archipelago has potential. Microsoft and Intel executives were one of those attending this week's inauguration ceremony.
Attract technical talent
Lopes says the park-based company is well positioned to serve clients in Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa, along with Brazil, Europe and the ECOWAS region. The park has also been designated as a “special economic zone for technology” and allows businesses to benefit from financial incentives, including a 2.5% discount on corporate tax, VAT and import tax exemption.
The secretary says businesses will benefit from a “pretty flexible” approach to immigration. Citizens of a wide range of countries can stay in Cabo Verde without needing a visa for the first three months.
In fact, Lopez suggests that the push for digitalization of Cabo Verde could help persuade some of its large diaspora to return to their roots. According to the International Organization for Migration, about twice as many Cabo Verdeans live abroad than Cabo Verde itself.
“When you develop a quality infrastructure, as we do, you start to attract a diaspora. It's not just an international investor.
He argues that, like members of the diaspora and other foreigners, he will enjoy the quality of life and much lower cost of living in Cabo Verde while working remotely for an international technology company.
“If I close my eyes and travel to the future in 10 or 15 years, Americans, Europeans, Africans and perhaps South Americans, Asians, drinking coconuts, I will work to make businesses and develop solutions to solve the world's problems.”
