Its fortunes vacillated over the next few centuries but inevitably declined as slave trade decreased and was eventually abolished. In 1975 it achieved independence although it still has strong links with Portugal and Europe in general. On the continent it has close links with West Africa and Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Sao Tome and Principe. Over the past decade or so it has secured gradual and positive progress across all the major indicators allowing it to convert from a Least Developed Country to a Developing Country.
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| Source: Wikipedia |
Access for Africa
Atlantic Global Asset Management who use Cape Verde as their access point for Africa business describe it as being a comfortable place to work:
“It is a small, well-placed country. It has a stable currency, and the economy is growing despite the low level of business activity. In addition, and this is important too, we have good relations with the country's leadership.”
Renewable Energy
Being the birthplace of many of the tropical storms that wreck havoc many miles away, it is not surprising that CaVerde is an international kitesurfing destination. These winds and a favourable business climate have also attracted the attention of African Finance Corporation who invested in the 26MW award winning Cabeolica wind farm on the islands. Capeolica is the first commercial wind farm in sub-Saharan Africa providing for 20% of Cape Verde's energy needs. The Africa Architecture Awards also featured the Ecowski Centre for Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency located in Capo Verde.
New Tech
Not to be outdone, the African Development Bank has a budget of 20 million euros earmarked for for the Praia Technology Park which is expected to be operational in 2018. This in a bid by the government to create a “cyber island”. Cape Verde is already a landing point for the West African Cable System delivering high speed connections, and the expected connection with the South Atlantic Cable System, also in 2018, is set to create a platform for communication that aligns with Cape Verde’s stated objectives.
Airwaves
It’s not just under sea that is transforming the islands fortunes, international freight company DHL Express' managing Director is quoted as saying that:
“Cape Verde is a small country consisting of 10 islands, and as a result, the quickest and most reliable way of transporting goods to and from the country is by air. Currently, there are three commercial airlines operating in the area and given that commercial airlines offer priority to passenger baggage, offloading of cargo from these planes was a regular occurrence. In order to better service the area, we introduced a DHL flight which operates between Senegal and Cape Verde weekly. This dedicated flight route provides various trade opportunities and greatly improves connectivity in the region.”
International Memberships
Cape Verde is a member of the World Trade Organisation and a European Partnership Agreement was initialed in 2014. This summary of its first trade review provides an excellent synopsis of the economic, social and growth prospects of Cabo Verde. Last month, for example, Praia hosted the 4th World Forum on Local Economic Development (LED).
Intellectual Property
At the end of 2014 the Government of Cape Verde decided to merge the IPICV (the former Intellectual Property Institute) with the Institute of Quality Management in the context of a state and public administration reform. Its new name is the Institute of Quality Management and Intellectual Property (IGQPI). This, and other aspects of Capo Verde’s IP activities have been reported on Afro-IP here, here, here and here. WIPO have a handy list on all of the Cabo Verde’s IP texts here (link no longer available), the most recent being the archipelago’s accession to the “Convention for the Safeguarding of the
Intangible Cultural Heritage” in 2016.
The IP filing statistics for Cabo Verde show little activity but it is open for business as the link and stats (above) show. Unfortunately there still appears to be no online presence for the IP office.
