Introduction–

Cape Verde officially known as the Republic of Cabo Verde is an island country located in Africa and achieved independence in the year 1975. The population of Cape Verde is just 5.6 lakh people and the majority of them follow Christianity. The currency of the nation is Cape Verdean escudo and the official language is Portuguese. Despite the lack of natural resources, Cape Verde has been one of the most developed and fastest growing nations in Africa mainly because of its services and tourism sector. The island nation of Cape Verde is strategically located at the point in the region and can easily reach several continents through the country. Approximately 46% of the population of the country is under the age of 25. A major part of the economy of Cape Verde is dependent upon Tourism sector and the sector contributes heavily to the GDP of the country. The nation is a contrast of geographical and diversified landscapes and the climate is dry tropical for most part of the year. The capital of Cape Verde is Praia City. The government of Cape Verde has established Cabo Verde TradeInvest to ensure the boost of FDI in the country and promoting the exports. The organization was established to facilitate and take care of the investor needs and export needs along with advocating the improvement of business environment of the nation.

The island nation of Cape Verde has a number of opportunities available to the investors in several key and important sectors such as agribusiness, industries, services, ICT, Sea Economy, Tourism, Renewable Energy etc. These sectors can be easily explored by the investors with great incentives and tax benefits provided by the government to boost FDI in them and create many employment opportunities for the youth of the country. Cape Verde has been a pioneer of FDI boost in Africa since last decade and has created a wonderful business environment which has encouraged the investors to invest in the country.

Types of Business which can be started in Cape Verde–

1. Tourism– The tourism is one of the most important sector of Cape Verde and generates approximately 21% of the nation’s GDP. The nation receives half a million of tourists annually in the country and this number is expected to touch one million soon. The beautiful locations and destinations of Cape Verde combined with the existence of 4 international airports and the close proximity to several European markets and excellent climatic conditions has made Cape Verde one of the most popular choice for tourism from tourists across the world. Several business and investment opportunities of Cape Verde tourism sector includes hotels, resorts, low cost air transport, eco-tourism, water sports, health tourism etc.
2. Renewable Energy– The renewable energy contributes heavily to the energy sector of Cape Verde right now with around 20% and the government wants to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels in the future and thus is planning to increase the penetration rate of renewable energy in the coming years. Renewable energy sector is categorized by the Cape Verde government as a priority sector and utilize the huge opportunity available in the sector such as fast wind and excellent solar energy potential.
3. Sea Economy– The strategically located island nation of Cape Verde is at the center of trade route between 3 continents which has always been a major advance for the nation and thus is attractive for the investors in terms of logistics. The government of Cape Verde is investing heavily into expanding and opening old and new ports for the sea economy. The major business and investment opportunity of the sector are opening a new logistic hub, ship construction and maintenance, port handling, fishing industry etc.
4. ICT– ICT sector is tremendously growing in Cape Verde as the nation has one of the best ICT infrastructure in the region. There has been various investments in the ICT sector of the country owning to its location and highly educated work force which is why ICT sector has grown highly in the country. The internet penetration of Cape Verde is one of the best in the region and there are several investment opportunities for the investors in the country such as telecalling centers, customer care, internet service providers, telecommunications network etc.
5. Agribusiness– The agribusiness sector of Cape Verde has a potential for excellent growth in the large consumer markets of ECOWAS countries and other trade agreements of which the nation is a part of. The country not only has a large arable land but the excellent water management practices has also helped the sector in boosting the production. The agribusiness sector has an excellent opportunity for FDI in Cape Verde and there is a large scope of business expansion in the country.

Advantages of starting a Business in Cape Verde-

1. Strategic location of Cape Verde makes it a major entry point to a lot of countries and continents. The investors operating their business in the country can easily reach a large consumer market of these countries.
2. The island nation of Cape Verde is one of the most developed countries in Africa and is ranked 3^rd in the continent in Human Development Index, Quality of Life and 4^th in the ICT sector of Africa.
3. Since the time Cape Verde gained independence in the year 1975 it has been a highly stable country in terms of political scenarios which makes it one of the most secured places in Africa to invest.
4. The business environment of Cape Verde is extremely stable and highly friendly and supportive to the foreign investors and is consistently ranked by several top agencies as one of the best in Africa.
5. The average age of Cape Verde is around 28 years and the literacy rate is approximately 95% which makes it a highly educated country with ample number of skilled and educated young workers available in the country.
6. The government of Cape Verde provides a lot of tax benefits and lucrative incentives to the foreign investors interested in investing in the nation and probably that is the reason that Cape Verde receives a large amount of FDI.

Business Opportunities for Indians in Cape Verde–

Manufacturing–

The government is adopting a new industrial development strategy in Cape Verde to boost the manufacturing industries and inviting FDI in the sector. The manufacturing sector of the nation is attractive as the manufacturing industries can easily target the large markets of European countries, the Caribbean etc. The highly reliable logistics network of the country also adds an advantage to it. There are several business opportunities in Cape Verde for the investors in the manufacturing sector such as Textile industry, footwear, metomechanics, salt production etc. The government also provides excellent tax benefits and incentives to the investors in the sector and these reasons have made the manufacturing sector of Cape Verde one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy.

Imports & Exports-

The top exports of Cape Verde are mainly related to Processed Fish, Non-Fillet Frozen Fish, Molluscs, Footwear Parts, Undergarments etc. The major export partners of Cape Verde are Spain, Portugal, Italy, United States etc.

The top imports of Cape Verde are Refined Petroleum, Delivery Trucks, Cars, Shipping Containers, Cement etc. The major import partners of the country are Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, China, Italy etc.

GDP= $1.9818 Billion
GDP Growth= 5.7%
Ease of doing business rank= 137
GDP per Capita= $3,603

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