Cape Verde Builds Its Case as West Africa’s Tech and Diaspora Hub

With over 73% internet penetration, a growing tech park, and a diaspora three times larger than its resident population, the archipelago is positioning itself as a bridge between Africa and the world.

Key points

• Cape Verde aims to make the digital economy account for 25% of GDP by 2030
• TechParkCV, a £44.78 million facility, anchors the country’s push to attract international companies and retain local talent
• Web Summit will hold its first-ever African edition in Cape Verde later this year

Cape Verde is quietly building a compelling case to become one of West Africa’s most distinctive digital destinations — not just for tourists, but for investors, entrepreneurs, and diaspora professionals looking for an Atlantic base that combines stable governance with genuine continental ambition.

At the heart of that push is Pedro Fernandes Lopes, the country’s Secretary of State for the Digital Economy, who envisions Cape Verde as an open platform for the free movement of human and financial capital across the African diaspora. The goal is concrete: make the digital sector account for a quarter of GDP by 2030, up from a starting point anchored in decades of public service digitisation across Portuguese-speaking Africa.

« We don’t want to rely on foreign aid or support, » Lopes said. « What we’re going to do is open the market of Africa for unicorns — but also try to create unicorns of Africa here. »

The Infrastructure Is Taking Shape

Cape Verde’s fundamentals are stronger than its size might suggest. Internet penetration stands at over 73% — well above the African average of around 43%. Schoolchildren are being taught robotics and coding. New undersea cables are being laid beneath the Atlantic, reinforcing the archipelago’s position as a digital crossroads between continents.

The centrepiece of the ecosystem is TechParkCV, a £44.78 million facility in the capital Praia — with a smaller campus in Mindelo — that combines a startup incubation centre, a youth training hub, and a conference auditorium. Financed largely through a loan from the African Development Bank, it operates within a tax-incentivised special economic zone designed to attract companies seeking a technically and economically competitive base from which to serve global clients remotely. Around two dozen companies have set up within the park to date.

Later this year, TechParkCV will host the Web Summit, one of the world’s largest technology conferences. This will be the forum’s first edition in Africa since the event launched in 2009.

A Diaspora Ready to Come Home

Perhaps Cape Verde’s most underutilised asset is its diaspora. Indeed, the Cape Verdean diaspora is estimated at around 1.5 million people–roughly three times the resident population of 529,000.

Remittances reached a record €278 million in 2024, equivalent to 12–15% of GDP, consistently rivalling or exceeding foreign direct investment as a source of external finance. The government is now working to translate that financial engagement into something deeper: the return of skills, ideas, and entrepreneurial energy.

Jessica Sanches Tavares, an adviser to the board at TechParkCV, embodies that possibility. Born in Cape Verde but raised in France, she returned within the last few years, drawn by what she described to The Guardian as an unmistakable pull. « There is an ambition, a will to build, and it is really stimulating to be part of it, » she said. « There are still challenges, but I think we are on the right trajectory. »

Lopes frames the challenge in generational terms. « I’m sure that this generation doesn’t want to come back only when they are retired, like their parents did, » he said. « If we change the idea that people leave the country and also tell bright minds to return, things will change. But we cannot just have the narrative. You have to walk the talk. And that’s what we are doing now. »

Obstacles That Still Need Addressing

Poor air connectivity to destinations within Africa remains a structural barrier for a country positioning itself as a continental hub. There are also recurring reports of Black African travellers being subjected to additional searches at Cape Verde’s airports, a reputational risk the ecosystem can ill afford if it is serious about drawing in pan-African talent.

Some within the startup community also flag an over-reliance on government support, with up to 100 startup founders reportedly receiving public funding to cover staff salaries, and attendance at international tech events fully subsidised. 

Addressing that dependency–and building a self-sustaining private sector–will be the real test of whether Cape Verde’s digital ambitions endure beyond the current political moment.