By Ayomide Otitoju
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved a €17.71 million loan to support the second phase of Cabo Verde’s E-Governance and Public Financial Management Reform Programme. The approval was granted on Monday, continuing the Bank’s support from last year as the island nation leverages technology to boost economic growth and administrative efficiency.
Abdoulaye Coulibaly, Director of the Governance and Economic Reforms Department at AfDB, said the financing aims to “stimulate economic growth through digitisation and private-sector competitiveness, while advancing e-governance reforms to modernise public administration and consolidate public finances.”
The programme’s first component focuses on digitisation reforms to enhance private-sector competitiveness. Initiatives include the launch of e-Justice to digitise judicial processes and a call for proposals to attract private operators to Cabo Verde’s technology park under the ‘digital nomads programme.’ Admission criteria will be established to facilitate the entry of digital nomads and high-growth tech firms.
The second component targets the modernisation of public administration and fiscal consolidation. The programme will support policy actions to improve transparency, strengthen public resource management, and rationalise tax expenditures. Full estimates of annual tax expenditures will be published in the 2026 budget. Additionally, a Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability assessment, funded through the Middle Income Countries Grant, is scheduled for the first quarter of 2026.
Key beneficiaries of the programme include the Ministry of the Digital Economy, the Central Bank of Cabo Verde, the Institute for Gender Equality and Equity, the National Directorate of State Revenue, and the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority.
