• AfDB grants €17.7 m loan to advance Cape Verde’s e-governance reforms
  
  
• Program boosts digital business environment and modernizes public finance systems
  
  
• Measures target growth, transparency, and stronger private-sector competitiveness

The African Development Bank (AfDB) on Monday approved a 17.71 million euro ($20.63 million) loan for the second phase of Cape Verde's E-Governance and Public Financial Management Reform Program.

The bank said the funding is designed to stimulate economic growth through digitization while strengthening private sector competitiveness. It follows financing approved in 2024 and is intended to enable the Cape Verdean government to deepen its structural reforms.

According to Abdoulaye Coulibaly, director of the AfDB's Governance and Economic Reform Department, this initiative also aims to "stimulate economic growth through digitization and private sector competitiveness, while advancing e-governance reforms, to modernize public administration and sanitize public finances."

The first component of the program concerns improving the business environment via digital solutions. The country plans to introduce an e-Justice system, launch a call for proposals to attract operators to the technology park, and regulate the settlement of digital nomads, a strategic segment for Cape Verde's economy.

The second component involves modernizing public finances. The government will publish an action plan to reduce tax expenditures, strengthen budget transparency and improve the efficiency of public resource management. The funding will also support a public expenditure review scheduled for early 2026.

The main beneficiaries of this program include the Ministry of the Digital Economy, the Central Bank of Cape Verde, the Institute for Gender Equality, the National Revenue Directorate, and the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority.

Adoni Conrad Quenum