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Cabo Verde's strategic locatation as the Mid-Atlantic Hub

A small archipelago with big ambitions is quietly building bridges between three continents

Cabo Verde has placed a clear bet: turn its mid-Atlantic location – roughly four hours from Europe, 3.5 hours from Brazil, and one hour from West Africa – into a genuine tricontinental platform linking Africa, Europe, and the Americas. The government calls it the "Mid-Atlantic Hub, and the numbers are starting to match the ambition.

Geography First

The archipelago sits almost exactly in the centre of the Atlantic. Lisbon is four hours away by air, Recife in Brazil 3.5 hours, Dakar one hour, and Boston seven hours. With an Exclusive Economic Zone of 734,265 sq km surrounding just 4,033 sq km of land, the sea-to-land ratio exceeds 180:1 – one of the highest on earth.

Aviation Bridge

Sal Island's Amílcar Cabral International Airport already has a 3,270-metre runway capable of handling the largest wide-body aircraft and once served as a NASA space-shuttle alternate. Passenger numbers passed 2019 levels in 2023, reaching 2.03 million. Vinci Airports took over a 40-year concession in July 2023 and is expanding capacity to make Sal a true mid-Atlantic transfer point.

Maritime Platform

Nine ports serve the country, with deep-water facilities at Praia and Porto Grande on São Vicente handling 70 per cent of pre-pandemic cargo of 2.5 million tonnes a year. The European Union is financing a €148 million modernisation of four strategic ports and the expansion of the CABNAVE shipyard under its Global Gateway programme. The stated goal is to turn Cabo Verde into an Atlantic logistics, bunkering, and ship-repair centre on the Europe–South America–West Africa routes.

Digital Crossroads

Multiple submarine cables cross beneath the islands. EllaLink, operational since 2021, connects Brazil directly to Portugal via Cabo Verde and will reach 72 Tbps capacity by late 2026, cutting latency to Europe to 60 milliseconds. The African Development Bank is backing the €45.6 million TechPark CV on Praia and Mindelo with space for 1,500 workers inside a Special Economic Zone for Technology that offers corporate tax rates as low as 2.5 per cent.

Market Access

Cabo Verde is the only African country enjoying the EU's GSP+ preferential trade regime, belongs to ECOWAS (visa-free travel across 15 West African nations), benefits from the US African Growth and Opportunity Act, and is fully part of the African Continental Free Trade Area. The escudo remains pegged to the euro at exactly €1 = CVE 110.265.

Political Anchor

Investors repeatedly cite the same advantage: Cabo Verde ranks third most democratic nation in Africa on the Mo Ibrahim Index, second least corrupt after Seychelles, and third most economically free on the continent. The Investment Law grants identical treatment to foreign and domestic capital with no nationality restrictions.

Three mutually reinforcing clusters

The national plan structures the hub strategy around three mutually reinforcing clusters: air transport, maritime logistics, and digital services. Each feeds the others. A modernised port needs fast data and reliable power. A tech park attracts executives who arrive through Sal. An aviation hub brings cruise passengers who then need ship-repair facilities.

The vision is not new, but the concrete projects are now falling into place faster than most outsiders realise. For companies seeking a stable, well-connected platform between Europe, West Africa, and the Americas – or simply a lower-risk entry point to the continent – Cabo Verde is no longer just talking about becoming the mid-Atlantic hub. It is building it, piece by piece.

Facts & Figures

 I. Strategic Geographic Location

  • Archipelago Composition: Cabo Verde is an archipelago of 10 islands, strategically situated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, serving as a central point for three continents: Africa, Europe, and the Americas.
  • Distance to Continents: The country is located approximately 500 km (or 450 km or 570 km, some sources say 455 km) off the coast of West Africa. It is considered to be equally distant from North America and South Africa, and halfway between South America and Central Europe. It is only 1 hour of flight time from Senegal.
  • Air Connectivity Time: The country is less than 4 hours by air from Europe and South America. Travel times are specified as 3 hours from Portugal, 3.5 to 4 hours from Brazil, 7 hours from Boston, and 1 hour from West Africa.
  • Maritime Routes: Cabo Verde is located near some of the world's major navigation routes, particularly those running between Europe, the Mediterranean, South America, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Political Environment: Cabo Verde possesses a democratic governance and transparent regulatory framework, maintaining its status as one of Africa's most democratic and politically stable countries. The country ranked 3rd in Africa on the Mo Ibrahim Governance Index in 2013.

II. Air Transport Hub (Aviation Platform)

  • Development Priority: The development of the Air Transport Hub on Sal Island is one of the seven priority hubs identified in the Strategic Plan for Sustainable Development (PEDS II).
  • Airport Infrastructure: The Amilcar Cabral International Airport on Sal Island has a runway length of 3,270 meters. This runway is suitable for ICAO class 4E aircraft (such as B747/400 and A340/600). The airport is also designated as an alternate airport for NASA space shuttle ships.
  • Traffic Volume Recovery: International passenger traffic has recovered post-pandemic, exceeding 2019 levels in 2023, rising from 1.95 million to 2.03 million (or from 195 million to 2.03 million in one reference).
  • International Connections: In 2019, Cabo Verde Airlines (CVA) used a hub-and-spoke operation in Sal, offering flight connections to Ghana, Senegal, Portugal, France, Italy, Brazil, and the United States of America.
  • Concession: Cabo Verde's airports were concessioned to Vinci Airports, which began management in July 2023.

III. Maritime and Logistics Hub (Atlantic Blue Platform)

  • Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): Cabo Verde, a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), has a total land area of 4,033 km², but an extensive EEZ spanning 734,265 km² (or 789,400 km² in another source). This results in a sea-to-land ratio of more than 1:180, making it one of the highest in the world.
  • Port Infrastructure: Cabo Verde operates nine commercial ports. The two largest maritime logistics nodes, handling 70 percent of all cargo throughput, are Porto Grande (São Vicente) and Porto de Praia (Santiago). Porto Grande has cold storage facilities with a capacity of 6,000 tonnes.
  • Cargo Volumes: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the country's ports handled about 2.5 million yearly tons of cargo.
  • Bunkering Potential: The country's strategic location gives it a privileged position to become a major center for fuel supply (bunkering) in the Middle Atlantic. The market potential for bunkering is estimated at 3.6 million tons/year, exceeding total domestic sales in 2011 by more than 40 times.
  • Economic Target: The government aims for the Blue Economy to contribute 25% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2030 and generate 35,000 jobs.
  • Special Economic Zone: The Maritime Special Economic Zone in São Vicente (ZEEMSV) was created specifically to transform Cabo Verde into a maritime and logistics platform.
  • Strategic Location for Shipping: The islands are situated at the crossing of major international shipping routes in the mid-Atlantic.

IV. Digital Hub and Innovation

  • Digital Connectivity: Cabo Verde sits at the intersection of multiple international fiber-optic submarine cables. The EllaLink cable, linking Brazil and Portugal via Cabo Verde, added 40 gigabits per second (Gbps) of capacity. Other cables include Atlantis-2 (linking Europe, Africa, and South America).
  • Bandwidth Growth: International internet bandwidth is projected to increase by an average of 43 percent annually until 2027 due to new cable projects.
  • Internet Penetration: As of the date of one report, 71.2 percent of the population has access to the internet. The government targets 90% internet penetration by 2026.
  • Economic Goals: The government aims to raise the digital economy's contribution to 25% of national GDP in the coming years.
  • TechPark Investment: The development of TechPark CV is supported by a €45.59 million ($50 million) investment from the African Development Bank (AfDB). This project aims to create up to 1,500 jobs. The total investment is approximately €50 million or €51.85 million ($58M).
  • Capacity and Zones: The park operates two campuses: one in Praia (Santiago Island) and one in Mindelo (São Vicente Island). It is designated a Special Economic Zone for Technology (ZEET).
  • Incentives: Companies operating within the ZEET benefit from a reduced corporate tax rate of 2.5%, along with exemptions from VAT and import taxes.
  • E-Government Status: Cabo Verde was named a "GovTech Leader" by the World Bank in 2022, topping the GovTech Maturity Index for Sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Amílcar Cabral Fibre Network: The network links sub-regional capitals in ECOWAS.

V. Investment, Residency, and Stability Hub

  • Political Stability: The country is known as one of Africa's most politically stable nations, operating a stable parliamentary regime.
  • Investment Climate: Cabo Verde is often classified as a case of success in Africa, offering an environment of security and tranquility for investors.
  • Currency Stability: The Cabo Verdean Escudo (CVE) is pegged to the Euro (€) at a fixed rate of 1 EUR = 110.265 CVE, ensuring stability and predictability for international transactions.
  • Remote Working Program: The "Remote Working Cabo Verde" program facilitates the entry of digital nomads, offering a visa for up to 1 year.
  • Nomad Incentives: The program requires a minimum monthly income of only €1,500 and offers a crucial benefit of zero income tax on foreign earnings.
  • International Business Center: The International Business Center (CIN) was created to leverage the geo-strategic position and internationalization framework, promoting new industrial, commercial, and service activities to catalyze international trade.