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International Partnerships

Cabo Verde

Cabo Verde is an archipelago strategically positioned in the Atlantic Sea, at 500 miles from the African continent. Despite its limited natural resources (mainly sun and wind) and vulnerability to climate-related challenges, Cabo Verde achieved lower middle-income status in 2008.Tourism represents around 20% of the national GDP. The country is renowned for political stability, good governance, and is a beacon of liberal democracy in Africa. The EU and Cabo Verde have been engaged in a Special Partnership since 2007.

Our partnership

The EU supports Cabo Verde’s long-term development goals in line with ‘Cabo Verde – Ambition 2030‘ and the EU ’Global Gateway Strategy.’ The EU’s aim is to assist Cabo Verde in its transformation towards a sustainable, green, and inclusive growth model, focusing on key competitive clusters such as renewable energy, blue economy and digitalisation.

Team Europe in Cabo Verde brings together the EU, the European Investment Bank, France, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Spain.

Our priorities and support revolve around:

  • Renewable energy transition: Assisting Cabo Verde in its journey towards sustainable and green energy sources and the commitment to attain 50% renewable energy sources by 2030.
  • Blue economy: Promoting a sustainable maritime economy, harnessing the potential of Cabo Verde's abundant coastal resources.
  • Social protection: Supporting a robust social protection system, by actions as the creation of a social fund (“Fundo Mais”) and the consolidation of the social registry, to eradicate extreme poverty by 2026.
  • Sustainable tourism: facilitating a tourism model that embraces sustainability.

Under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI-Global Europe), the EU has allocated €24 million in grant funding for the Cabo Verde partnership from 2021 to 2024. This envelop is instrumental in mobilising additional funding, from development banks and the private sector, for investments in energy, the blue economy, and digitalisation.

8 MARCH 2022
Multiannual Indicative Programme 2021-2027 for Cabo Verde – annex
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(974.16 KB - PDF)
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16 DECEMBER 2021
Annual action plan 2021 for Cape Verde
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(1.57 MB - ZIP)
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Our flagship initiatives

Team Europe in Cabo Verde brings together the EU, the European Investment Bank, France, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Spain through the Team Europe Initiative ’Sustainable and Inclusive Cabo Verde.

Team Europe in Cabo Verde focuses on 3 priority areas for their transformational impact:

  • Renewable energy: to support Cabo Verde's renewable energy potential through strategic investments. The Santiago Pump Storage project, aims to catapult renewable energy usage to surpass 50% by 2030. Moreover, EU support aims to accompany private investments to increase the country’s renewable energy production by 10 MW.
     
  • Green and blue economies: Within the Praia-Dakar-Abidjan Strategic Corridor, transformative initiatives are forging ahead. The inauguration of Maio port  in 2022 and the ongoing works at the port of Palmeira in Sal island show how Global Gateway is concretely supporting Cabo Verde’s blue economy. The EU is likewise engaged in supporting Cabo Verde’s ambitions on innovative ways of funding socio-economic development. For the first time, the country launched blue bonds in 2023 and is exploring the possibility to launch green bonds. Finally, Team Europe is very active in promoting private sector investments in sectors such as aquaculture, fish transformation or green energy production (solar and wind).
     
  • Digitalisation: to support the country’s ambition to become a digital hub, fostering smart, clean, and secure connections. Cabo Verde stands at a digital crossroads between Europe, Africa, and America, with the Ella Link cable connecting continents. Team Europe and Cabo Verde Telecom work together to modernise the islands interconnection cables and thus attract more private sector activity. This endeavour aims to provide quality digital services (including capacity, IP transit, and data centre housing) to both regional and international markets. Moreover, it also seeks to strengthen global health, education, and research systems.
24 OCTOBER 2023
EU-Cabo Verde country projects
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(592.74 KB - PDF)
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