United Nations, New York, Jan. 25, 2026 (Lusa) - The resident representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sao Tome and Principe considers the Portuguese-speaking African archipelago "the most promising investment opportunity in the world," as he stated on Sunday in comments to Lusa.
"For investors who look beyond the tiresome logic of mining and short-term profits, São Tomé and Príncipe could be one of the most strategic places to invest in the coming months," said Luc Gnonlonfoun, stressing that "the most promising investment opportunity in the world is an island nation" that investors are unaware of.
In a global economy obsessed with scale, São Tomé and Príncipe is easy to overlook, argued the UNDP expert, pointing to a number of competitive advantages of the small African archipelago.
"São Tomé and Príncipe is the first country in the world to have 100% of its territory classified as a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, which means that economic activity, by definition, can reconcile growth with conservation, which, for investors, offers something rare: long-term regulatory clarity anchored in sustainability, not unpredictable political cycles," argues the UNDP official in São Tomé and Príncipe.
The archipelago, he points out, has "one of the most distinctive ecosystems in the world, with endemic fauna and flora found nowhere else" and an exclusive economic zone 160 times the size of the country, in addition to cocoa, which offers investment opportunities not only for the export of raw materials, but also for the creation of value locally.
"São Tomé and Príncipe is not underdeveloped, it is deliberately preserved," he argues, pointing to tourism as one of the areas that international investors should look to in order to ensure sustainable and long-term returns.
For Luc Gnonlonfoun, the attention that international investors are giving to “green” investments is also an advantage for the archipelago.
"Investors are increasingly evaluating not only on returns, but also on impact, governance and credibility, and São Tomé and Príncipe may not offer scale, but it offers a coherent investment ecosystem, being a place where renewable energy, sustainable tourism, blue economy projects and high-value agriculture are not competing priorities, but part of a single national vision," he maintained.
Investing in the country, he concludes, "is not charity, it is an early gateway into markets that will define the next phase of global development, because there is an opportunity to invest not only in growth, but in a future that still makes sense."
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