Cape Verde bets on tech to reverse postcolonial brain drain
Summary
Cape Verde is working to grow its digital economy to reduce high emigration rates and become a tech hub in West Africa. The government created a digital economy ministry and built TechParkCV, a technology center that supports startups and training, partly funded by the African Development Bank.Key Facts
- Cape Verde has a population of about 529,000 but a diaspora three to four times larger.
- The internet access rate in Cape Verde is 75%, which is twice the African average.
- The digital economy ministry aims for technology to make up 25% of the country's GDP by 2030.
- Schoolchildren in Cape Verde are learning robotics and coding in innovative classroom settings like shipping containers.
- TechParkCV is a £44.78 million tech facility with startup incubation, youth training, and a conference center.
- Funding for TechParkCV and its Mindelo campus came mainly from a loan by the African Development Bank.
- In December, Cape Verde will host the Web Summit, a major global technology conference, marking its first event on the African continent.
- TechParkCV operates within a tax-incentivized special economic zone to attract companies working remotely worldwide.
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