ECONOMY

Portuguese development financing company Sofid has six financing projects in the work for Cape Verde, a market in which it intends to enter the controlled-cost housing, parking, tourism and agriculture sectors. The company’s investment portfolio in the country involves some five million Euros (A Semana).

The vessel Vicente, owned by the Tuninha -Transportes Marítimos SA company, will start operating on the São Vicente/ Santo Antão route from next week in order to fill up the gap left by the Sal Rei vessel that now only operates on Sundays on that route (AW/A Semana).

CAPE VERDE IN 2030

Atlantico Weekly is looking ahead!

Check out our Cape Verde in 2030 with a realistic glimpse of where and how Cape Verde will look like in the next decades …!

PROJECT OF THE WEEK

Render of a Coladera villa, part of the Ponte Bicuda project for Santiago (source).

BUSINESS

The Business Initiative Directive (BID) has highlighted Boa Vista-based business Oásis in its “gold” category, in which some 77 companies throughout the world have been classified, including the firm that built the world’s tallest building. The associates of the Cape Verdean company admitted their “surprise” at the distinction, and affirmed their hope to consolidate their business in Cape Verde and expand internationally (A Semana).

The process to certify some traditional products in Cape Verde such as cheese, rum, wine, and coffee from Fogo Island, are currently underway, the minister for Rural Development, Eva Ortet said (Macauhub).

AGRI ETC.

Both farmers and Minister of Rural Development Eva Ortet confirmed the existence of an unknown disease attacking banana and papaya tress on the island of Santiago. The area of greatest concern is Ribeira dos Picos Engenhos, in the municipality of Santa Cruz (A Semana).

BANKING & FINANCE

The Cape Verde Stock Exchange has suspended the registry of Cape Verdean commercial bank Banco Caboverdiano de Negócios (BCN) as an operator at the institution. The Cape Verde Stock Exchange did not specify the reasons that led it to adopt the drastic measure, but rumors have long been circulating about the bank’s alleged lack of liquidity (A Semana).

Angolan bank Banco BIC is considering acquiring BPN IFI, a unit of the former Portuguese bank, Banco Português de Negócios (BPN) in Cape Verde. Cape Verde was one of the countries in which Banco BIC planned to be present and  regardless of the acquisition of the Cape Verdean bank BIC is already preparing a request for a license to operate in the market through an international financial institution (IFI) (Macauhub).

FISHERIES

Spain plans to fund projects in the fishing sector in Cape Verde and the Spanish council of ministers has already approved a loan of 12.8 million euros. The loan will pay for two projects to design and build facilities for processing, freezing and canning fish, and the coordination centres for these activities, which will be based in Mindelo on the island of São Vicente, will also provide support to Spanish companies operating in Cape Verde (Macauhub).

SUBSCRIBE!

You can subscribe to Atlantico Weekly here. It’s free!

Atlantico Weekly is now also on Facebook. Be welcome to join our group!

You can follow Atlantico Weekly on Twitter at atlanticoweekly.

Also be welcome to join our Atlantico Weekly networking and discussion group on Linkedin.

TELECOMS

The Prime Minister of Cape Verde, Jose Maria Neves, said the government will negotiate a new concession agreement with Portugal Telecom and CV Telecom at a meeting in Lisbon on 23 April. He told a press conference that he will meet that day with the board of directors of Portugal Telecom, ahead of CV Telecom’s general meeting at the end of the month. Portugal Telecom owns 40 percent of CV Telecom. Neves denied that the negotiation of a new contract has anything to do with plans for Angolan investment in CV Telecom’s main rival, T + (Telecom Paper).

TOURISM

“In terms of medium-haul destinations, the star is Cape Verde, if we have to choose just one,” according to the president of the Portuguese Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies (APAVT), Pedro Costa Ferreira, in an interview with website PressTur about the most sought-after destinations on the part of Portuguese tourists (A Semana).

ENTREPRENEURS OF CAPE VERDE

Check out Atlantico Weekly’s Entrepreneurs of Cape Verde, a series of short interviews with entrepreneurs in Cape Verde, both homegrown and foreign. For instance with Helen Hutchings and Steve Cooling of Blu bar, Santa Maria…!