Abidjan, Ivory Coast, May 30, 2025 (Lusa) - Cabo Verde will develop a technology institute to train human resources in the country and on the African continent, complementing the infrastructure of the technology park inaugurated this year, the deputy prime minister said on Friday.
"This study is on our agenda," Olavo Correia, who is also responsible for finance, told Lusa on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
The project will be among the proposals for financing and support under the next five-year cooperation framework with the AfDB, which will be prepared shortly, and will also be presented to the World Bank, the European Union and other partners.
Akinwumi Adesina, outgoing president of the AfDB, already gave his support to the idea during the inauguration ceremony of the Cabo Verdean technology park (financed by the bank) earlier this month in the city of Praia.
It is a project "not only for the country, but for the African continent, so that young people can receive digital training in Cabo Verde and work from here for the world," Olavo Correia said today, pointing to the creation of "modern, well-paid and quality jobs."
Asked about the feasibility, Olavo Correia said that "more than being feasible, it is a necessity," arguing that "building the technology park without the human resources training component is like having half a bridge, half a road," instead of a complete structure.
"We need to set up a sustainable system, with quality training in key areas" of new information technologies, in order to promote "a digital economy ecosystem," he stressed. After all, he added, "it is not just a matter of attracting companies, but of having Cabo Verdean labour to work."
The institute should "take advantage of opportunities" for the incubation, installation and development of start-ups (innovative companies), complementing the education system in "all areas and skills of the digital field".
“It is a necessity that must be addressed, not only for Cabo Verde, but for the African continent and Portuguese-speaking countries, so that we can achieve volume and sustainability. It will be a disruptive project,” he said.
Even before that, a start-up development programme, the Morabeza Fund, will be launched in June.
“We will be launching it in June and we hope to be joined by the president of the AfDB, Akinwumi Adesina. It is what we call the Morabeza Fund, worth US$24 million [€21 million], to support mainly start-ups and technology-based companies to start up and develop solutions for the national and international market,” he said.
Olavo Correia said that it will be a “very significant investment for technology-based start-ups in Cabo Verde” and, like the technology institute project, “will complete the infrastructure”.
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