The Secretary of State for Business Development, Adalgisa Vaz, announced this morning that “particular attention will be given to young entrepreneurs, within the scope of the credit line of 9 billion escudos to be launched by the Government, with more flexible conditions, to stimulate the economy, in this post-Covid recovery phase – with emphasis on strengthening the business capacity of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in innovative activities that contribute to their integration and progression in value chains”.
Adalgisa Vaz made these statements while chairing, this morning, in the city of Praia, the opening act of the workshop on “Mechanisms of Support for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises”. This is a project financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), whose objective is to promote a reflection on the ecosystem and the existing mechanisms, in terms of support and financing to entrepreneurship.
The Secretary of State for Business Development emphasized that they are “aware of the key role of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, which constitute about 98 percent of formal companies and represent 40 percent of formal jobs. The Government promotes, encourages and monitors, with interest, all initiatives to improve the quality of youth employment and employability services, having placed the development of entrepreneurship, innovation, and access to finance at the center of its policy strategy to face the challenges of youth employment”.
She also pointed out that the Government has placed at the center of its development strategy, the promotion of “start ups”, professional training, the promotion of an entrepreneurial culture, and the socio-professional insertion of young people in economic life.
The Governor took the opportunity to highlight the strategic partnership with the African Development Bank (ADB) which, as she underlined, “values the Government’s focus on vocational training and the employability and inclusion of young people” and which, in the scope of this Pilot Project, “promotes the improvement of the employment situation of young people through self-employment.
She also highlighted that Cabo Verde has a set of financial and non-financial instruments that young people can benefit from. He also emphasized that there is a variety of actors supporting the development of MSMEs and who act as facilitators. And she gave examples: Pro Empresa/ the incubators/ the accelerators/ the Micro Finance Institutions and ARAP that signed a protocol with AJEC – Young Entrepreneurs Association of Cabo Verde, to monitor the facilities to reserve 25% of public contracting to Micro and Small Enterprises.