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The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the government of Cape Verde have signed a €14 million (US$15 million) loan agreement for the second phase of development of the Cabo Verde Technology Park.

The first phase of the park was also supported with AfDB funding.

The new loan agreement was signed on 19 July in the capital Praia. The second phase entails the construction of two data centres as public-private partnerships (PPP) and the installation of renewable energy capacity.

The phase is planned to be completed by June 2026.

The AfDB provided a loan of €31.6m to finance the first phase of the technology park, which functions as a special economic with tax and import duty incentives.

The park has two campuses: one in Praia and an extension in Mindelo, on the island of Sao Vicente. 

All the buildings are located in Praia, except building 2, which is part of the data centre component and is on Sao Vicente. The data centre is designed to offer disaster recovery services, which is why it is on a different island. 

The Praia campus covers 8 hectares and includes six main buildings, which host a technology training centre, a technology business incubation centre, a business centre and a conference centre.

The first companies have already started operating at the campus and an official inauguration for technology park is planned for the end of 2023. 

The contractors that worked on the first phase of the Cabo Verde Technology Park include:
•    Local firms Armando Cunha and Construção e Manutenção Electromecanica (CME) on the construction of the business centre of the technology park
•    Portugal’s Elevolution Engenharia SA (Elevo) on the construction of the training centre
•    Portugal’s Mota-Engil Engenharia e Construção on the construction of the incubation centre
•    The local Sociedade de Construçoes SA (SGL) on the construction of a data centre 
•    Armando Cunha and CME on the construction of the data centre in Mindelo
•    Armando Cunha and CME on underground works and the construction of a thermal power plant
•    South Africa’s WinPower on the design, supply, installation, and commissioning of an emergency power station with two containerised diesel generator sets.

After signing the new loan agreement, Cabo Verde's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Olavo Avelino Garcia Correia said, "Our ambition is to transform Cabo Verde into a digital nation, with a circulating economy and the technology parks in Praia being part of this significant government strategy."

The hope is the technology park will become a regional ICT hub, attracting companies that provide services such as business process outsourcing and software development.

In September 2022, the AfDB said more than 15 businesses had already expressed interest in the park, including Microsoft, Unitel, Huawei, and AfriLabs. 

Cape Verde is considered a strategic location for ICT businesses as Praia is the landing point for several subsea cables, including the Cabo Verde Telecom Domestic Submarine Cable; the Senegal Horn of Africa Regional Express (SHARE) Cable; the West Africa Cable System (WACS); and the Portugal-to-Brazil EllaLink cable. 

Photo: Loan signing (Source: AfDB)