ADB finances the second phase of the Technological Park in Cape Verde with 14 ME

The first phase of the Technological Park included the physical construction, which has already been completed, to a value of 36 million euros, 31 million from the ADB and five million from the Government of Cape Verde.

According to the president of the institution, Carlos Monteiro, the 14 million euros will be used to equip the two Data Centers and other areas, but also to acquire furniture, install parks for renewable energy, build green spaces and train human resources to work on infrastructure. .

According to the same official, the park has already started its operations, receiving the entire management team, which has already signed contracts with 15 companies to start operating there.

As for the inauguration, Carlos Monteiro said that it should happen between the end of this year and the beginning of the next, referring that until then the start will be gradual.

The Technological Park is one of the important projects underway in Cape Verde and represents one of the “fundamental pillars” of promoting the Digital Economy, underlined the Cape Verdean Executive, in a press release.

Built in the Achada Grande Frente area, close to the 'Nelson Mandela' Praia International Airport, the works started in 2017 and the area has already taken on another form and life, with imposing and modern structures at the entrance to the city of Praia.

With several other institutions around, the development has the capacity to host around 30 companies, from the public to the private sector, linked to information technologies.

In an interview with Lusa in June, the president said that a “great opening event” was being prepared, with guests and national and international partners, including the presence of the president of the ADB, Akinwumi Adesina.

The total project has an investment of 50 million euros, but he projected that it could reach 70 million as soon as everything is ready, in the coming years.

The Technological Park is part of Cape Verde's Digital Strategy, which has as one of its three axes the expansion of the connectivity infrastructure, improvement of training and the provision of digital services through the regional market.

“The Technological Park is considered, in this process, as the place of reference and action for the entire Digital Strategy, bringing together the interests of the sectors and enhancing the competitive advantages in the creation of the Market-Companies-Employment-Training ecosystem”, according to the Government.

The infrastructure includes facilities such as a data center, business center, training center and incubation center, conference center, among other facilities, and will generate around 1,500 jobs, both direct and indirect.

Considered the “heart” of the country's digital strategy, it also has a center under construction on the island of São Vicente, a total project worth 40 million euros that aims to transform the archipelago into a technological 'hub' in Africa.

Cape Verde's partnership with the AfDB, which has been around for 46 years, has focused on several sectors, particularly digital, and has had real impacts on the country, representing a financial envelope of around 620 million euros. The Week with Lusa