The African Development Bank (ADB) delegation, led by its Deputy Director General for the West Africa region, Joseph Ribeiro, who is in Cabo Verde as part of the GAO Assessment Mission, paid a visit to the Technological Park in the City of Praia to get to know this ambitious technology-based project where innovation is privileged and entrepreneurship is encouraged.
On the visit, which took place yesterday afternoon, the ADB Delegation was accompanied by Secretary of State Pedro Lopes, and the National Planning Director, Gilson Pina, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Technology Park, Carlos Monteiro. The works at the Technology Park of Praia are evolving at a very positive pace.By the end of this year, assured Secretary of State Pedro Lopes, the works will be completed and “we will have concluded the house of the Digital Warriors of Cabo Verde”.
The Governor also explained that the Park is a project that will include a technology training center, a technology business incubation center, a business center, and a conference center. São Vicente will also be part of this major investment by the Government of Cabo Verde.
This is an initial investment of almost 36 million euros whose goal is to boost the ICT cluster, positioning Cabo Verde as an international center for service provision and as a Gateway to Africa for companies of international reference in the sector. On the other hand, the project aims to promote a technology-based innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem; establish partnerships with the main international players in the sector; attract foreign direct investment for ICT-based services; enable the development, visibility, and distribution of e-governance solutions; expand and integrate electronic solutions and services for various business areas, and encourage ICT training for national and regional human resources. The technological part of the park has 10 hectares and the government also intends to take advantage of the remaining free space of 50 hectares to create a Special Economic Zone for technologies.