Cape Verde

SAFRIGEST S.A., Cape Verde

Economic Overview & Business Opportunities – Cape Verde

Cape Verde, one of the African countries, is an archipelago that consists of nine inhabited islands, one uninhabited island, and various islets. Bordering Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, and Senegal, Cape Verde is situated 500 kilometres off the west coast of Africa. Spanning over 4,033 square kilometres of land, Cape Verde is the 177^th largest nation (in terms of land area) and home to the population of around 550 thousand.

Economic Overview

Cape Verde’s stable democracy and its proximity to Europe are among the important reasons make Cape Verde an attractive business place. Cape Verde is well known to foreign investors due to its preferential access conditions to markets such as the European Union (“EU”), Economic Community of West African States (“ECOWAS”), and Canada (Memorandum of Understanding on LDC Initiatives). Ranked 131 among 190 economies in the ease of doing business (according to the latest World Bank annual ratings), Cape Verde is also the world’s 73^rd freest economy with the score 63.1 in the economic freedom score.

Cape Verde is always referred to as one of the best places for winter sun due to its pleasant weather and beautiful beaches. Indeed, tourism thrives in Cape Verde where it is also the biggest growth sector of the gross domestic product (“GDP”). Cape Verde’s economy is primarily service oriented in which service sector contributed to approximately 90% of GDP.

In addition to that, exports and investments are the other two main pillars that drive Cape Verde’s GDP growth. The combined value of exports and imports accounted for a large portion of the GDP. While agriculture is the significant source of employment in Cape Verde, the agriculture sector only contributed to approximately 12% of GDP due to year-long drought. In Cape Verde, maize and beans are the majority of crops grown in the country, whilst bananas and coffee are the main exported crops. Though a majority of Cape Verde’s population work in agriculture sector, the country still imports around 90% of food supplies.

Why Investing in Cape Verde

1. Economic and Political Stability
   • Free from political, ethnic or religious conflicts;
   • A country with stable social and economic indicators.
2. Strategic geographic Location
3. Easy access to nearby markets such as EU and ECOWAS.
4. Well trained labour
5. Good facilities
   • Equipped with international seaports and airports;
   • Efficient information and communication technology;
6. Business-friendly government policies
   • Non-discriminatory policy,
   • Reduced corporate tax rates for the first 5 years in business.
   • Investors are entitled to 100% repatriation of all legally earned profits in hard currency;

Cape Verde’s economy is expected to maintain real GDP growth, with a projection of growth at 4.1% in 2019 and 4.8% in 2020, respectively. Remittance inflows, manufacturing, tourism, as well as increased public infrastructure spending, are expected to be the main drivers of the growth. On top of that, private investment backed by good domestic credit conditions will also contribute to the economic growth in the country. If you are looking for a good investment destination in the region, Cape Verde could be on your bucket list!

ANTONIO OSORIO

CEO

SafriGest is a business management and consulting firm that brings together many years of know-how and experience in supporting companies. In fact, SafriGest was formed with the aim of providing companies operating in Cape Verde with high quality professional management services that bring added value.

SafriGest positions itself as a true business partner, supporting clients to grow their businesses. It is not about providing standalone services, on the contrary, we add value through ongoing management support, personalized service, integrated services and the strategic consulting provided.

With this philosophy, SafriGest is always present, providing grounded and up-to-date information, suggestions for operational improvement, and strategic advice, so that Managers and Entrepreneurs can focus on what they can best do to grow their business. We combine the expertise and experience of our team with a wide range of specialized services in the areas of corporate and management support, accounting, tax, legal, financial and investment advice, and professional training.

In an increasingly globalized and competitive world, companies can and must prepare themselves for the present and future challenges, adapting to the real needs of their respective sectors of activity, improving the levels of corporate management and management control, modernizing them by investing in the qualification of its staff, balancing their finances, implementing measures that make companies more effective and efficient.

This is not the time to cling to old paradigms. This is the time to face the future with a different, modern and dynamic perspective. Cape Verdean and foreign companies have already chosen SafriGest to advise them, which prove that we have a different way of consulting.

Safrigest is also part of the 3E Accounting International Network, which gives us a leading position, not only in Cape Verde, but internationally, as with this alliance we are present in 60 countries, with 90 offices and around 1300 employees to provide excellent services to our customers.

With SafriGest, entrepreneurs and managers are not uninformed, nor are they helpless when making strategic decisions or current management decisions for their companies, and the results achieved are evident.