Cabo Verde Digital - Infrastructure Strategy

The Bed of a "Digital Nation": Cabo Verde's Digital Infrastructure

In its ambitious bid to transform from an archipelagic state into a "Cyber Island" and a mid-Atlantic digital hub, the Government of Cabo Verde has placed Digital Infrastructure (Infraestrutura Digital) as the first and foundational pillar of its Digital Economy Strategy (EEDCV),. Recognized as the essential prerequisite for sustainable digital transformation, this stratgey focuses on overcoming the country's geographical fragmentation through state-of-the-art engineering. 

The objective is to develop a modern, robust infrastructure that guarantees universal, efficient, and high-quality access to digital services for citizens, businesses, and public institutions.

This strategy  is operationalized through three primary vectors: expanding high-speed connectivity (broadband and 5G), strengthening data processing capabilities, and operationalizing the country's Technology Parks.

1. The Connectivity Revolution: From Subsea to 5G

Cabo Verde's strategy leverages its geostrategic location to function as a digital bridge between Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

The International Backbone: Submarine Cables 

The strategy prioritizes the expansion of international connectivity to ensure redundancy and high capacity. The archipelago is currently connected via the EllaLink cable (linking Europe and Latin America) and the WACS cable,,. A critical component of this pillar is the development of the Amílcar Cabral Submarine Cable, a project designed to connect Cabo Verde to its neighbors on the West African mainland, including Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia,. This infrastructure allows Cabo Verde to export bandwidth capacity to the region and integrate deeply with the ECOWAS broadband backbone.

The Domestic Nervous System: Connectivity 2.0 and 5G 

To distribute this international bandwidth domestically, the government has launched the "Connectivity 2.0" program. This initiative involves replacing the aging inter-island fiber-optic submarine cable network, which is reaching the end of its useful life,. This modernization is a prerequisite for the national 5G strategy, launched in September 2025.

• The 5G Targets: The strategy aims for 90% internet penetration by 2026 and full 5G coverage by 2028.
• Economic Impact: 5G is viewed not just as a technology upgrade but as an instrument of economic transformation, essential for sectors like smart tourism and digital health.
• Open Access: To ensure these services remain affordable and competitive, the strategy mandates the regulation of an "Open Access Regime" for infrastructures and submarine cables. This ensures transparent and equitable access to critical infrastructure for various operators, promoting competition and innovation,.

2. Strengthening Data Centers: Sovereignty and Cloud Capacity

As the country generates more data, the ability to store and process it securely becomes a matter of digital sovereignty. Pillar 1 explicitly targets the strengthening of data centers to ensure security, efficiency, and resilience.

Capacity and Resilience 

The government is expanding its data center capabilities to support the transition to cloud computing, specifically the Government Cloud. This infrastructure is designed to host critical state data and offer services to the private sector. The strategy emphasizes resilience, illustrated by the setup of data centers in Praia (Santiago Island) with redundancy and backup facilities in Mindelo (São Vicente Island) to ensure business continuity in case of disaster,.

Sustainability Crucially, the strategy aligns digital infrastructure with environmental goals. It mandates the adoption of renewable energy sources to power these data centers, ensuring their energy sustainability and reducing the carbon footprint of the country's digital leap.

3. The Physical Core: TechPark CV

The flagship manifestation of Pillar 1 is the Cabo Verde Technology Park (TechPark CV). Inaugurated in May 2025 with an investment of €51.85 million (largely financed by the African Development Bank), the park serves as the physical engine of the digital economy,.

A Hub for Innovation The TechPark operates across two campuses:

• Praia: Features a business center, incubation center, training/qualification center, and a Tier-III equivalent data center,.
• Mindelo: Focuses on serving the northern islands and hosts a disaster recovery site,.

The ZEET Incentive To attract international tech giants and foster local startups, the TechPark is designated as a Special Economic Zone for Technologies (ZEET). This status offers aggressive fiscal incentives, including a 2.5% corporate income tax rate and exemptions on customs duties and VAT for technology imports,. This infrastructure is explicitly designed to position Cabo Verde as a service exporter and a regional center for training in emerging technologies like AI and cybersecurity,.

4. Future-Proofing: Smart Cities and Digital Payments

Finally, the stratgey extends beyond traditional IT infrastructure to include the foundations for Smart Cities. The strategy aims to develop advanced digital infrastructures such as IoT (Internet of Things) networks and data management systems to improve urban quality of life. It also prioritizes the strengthening of Digital Payments Infrastructure to support the transition to a "cashless economy," ensuring that financial transactions are secure and efficient across the archipelago,.

By integrating subsea cables, 5G networks, green data centers, and the TechPark, Pillar 1 of Cabo Verde's Digital Economy Strategy seeks to overcome the physical limitations of an island nation, creating a unified, high-speed digital territory ready for the global market.