Cabo Verde wants to become a regional digital hub by 2035. The privatisation of its tech infrastructure is happening now. The opportunity will not wait.
- Alice Santos
- May 26
- 2 min read
In 2023, I started tracking an interesting pattern in Cabo Verde.
The government committed to digitising 62% of public services by 2026. Then it went further: it started actively marketing its homegrown e-government platforms to neighbouring African countries as affordable, battle-tested solutions for their own digital transformation needs.
A small island nation was building its digital infrastructure — and planning to export it.
Here is what followed:
→ Airport management concession: 40-year deal awarded to a private operator in 2022
→ National bank stake: sold in 2024
→ Ports management: sub-concession tender launched
→ Pharmaceutical operations: privatisation underway
→ National electric utility (Electra): planned for privatisation before the 2026 elections
→ Capital markets master plan: targeting regional financial hub status by 2035
This is a systematic privatisation programme in a country with strong institutions, euro-linked currency, and EU economic partnership status.
For UK companies in fintech, digital services, telecommunications, or any technology adjacent to public sector transformation — this is a rare combination:
A government that is both motivated and capable. A market that is small enough to move quickly in. A platform that, if you build it right, becomes the reference case you take to Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, and São Tomé.
I spent time at Scotland–Africa business events earlier this year. What struck me was how many Scottish and UK companies are looking for a credible, stable first step into Africa.
Cabo Verde is that step.
The 2035 regional financial hub ambition is not guaranteed. But the infrastructure investment, the policy commitment, and the institutional track record make it the most credible digital economy bet in Lusophone Africa right now.
What does your company's Africa digital strategy look like?
If the answer is "we haven't built one yet" — that conversation is worth having now.
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