Starting your own business in Cape Verde

Hi Citizen,

I am glad that you appreciate the advice and information that I have provided about Cape Verde over the years that I've been contributing to the forum.

You have two very good business ideas. My reaction is as follows:

First Idea
The maritime business in Cape Verde has nowhere to go but up. We highly recommend it because the sector has been underserved for a long time, and there is continuous and increasing demand for services in the sector. The only thing I would suggest is that you not focus the delvery of you services exclusively on the port of Mindelo (which serves the northern islands) as there is just as much as big a port (of Praia) serving the Southern islands. Of course you can have your base in Mindelo. But remain open to the possibility of getting business from clients in the port of Praia. In addition, the maritime services in Sal and Boavista are also starting to come into their own because 75% of the tourism sector is based there, and the hotels are starting to increase ther use of Sal and Boavista as a maritime base as well. In summary: this is an excellent business idea; use Mindelo as your base, but be open to accepting clients from the other ports and don´t hesitate to promote your business nationwide.

Second Idea
This is an interesting idea but I'm not such a big fan for two reasons: (1) besides the capital expenditure for the apartments, you will end up spending quite a lot on the maintenance and servicing of the tourists who rent them. In can be quite a pain as I know several folkd who have done the same and there are headaches. Put it this way: only you will treat your apartments as if you own them. No-one else will; (2) Mindelo may not be the best place to do this...it only attracts 6% of the tourists coming to CV. So you will need to develop your own clientele and focus on the European markets from which Mindelo draws the most tourists. Certainly, if you were to invest that capital in Sal and/or Boavista, you are likely to get much better demand because, as noted earlier, those two islands attract 75% of tourists coming to CV.

Hope this helps,

Regards,

Angelo

A Citizen of the World wrote:

Good day CVAngelo,


First of all, many thanks for your advices in this thread.

First.
I am very interested to have a business at Sao Vicente island, exactly Mindelo, my favorite place in CV. The idea is to make service maintenance and troubleshooting of machinery at marine ships, with focus on electrical equipment and automation. In other words, to be a service engineer/troubleshooter for ships. Currently I am a seaman, electrical engineer officer on chemical tanker, and the above described is what I can do really good. Initially I plan to start to do this alone with my own tools/equipment. There is quite active ship's traffic in Porto Grande of Mindelo, so I think some of them sometimes needs qualified troubleshooter.

Second.

Another idea for business is much more prosaic: I have around 120 000 USD, and I can buy two one-bedroom apartments for tourist-oriented rent business in Mindelo.

And I also thinking about combination of these businesses.

The question is: what idea is looking more real in your opinion? My target is not generate huge money, but only provide humble life for me and my wife, and no more.

Many thanks in advance!

With the best regards
A Citizen of the World

Good day CVAngelo,

Thank you very much for your participation! Your opinion is very important for me. I will think in direction of maritime industry related business.


With the best regards

A Citizen of the World

Good morning/afternoon,
I am an American born Cabo Veardian, that has recently retired in America and I'm looking to reinvest in Cabo Verde, in order to help my family in Fogo and Praia and the Cabo Verdean people.  I initially came to Cabo Verde in April 2018 and met my family in here, for the first time, and I am now committed to improving their living conditions and creating more sustainable economic opportunities. I plan on achieving this by establishing  a small business that supports the family farm and the agricultural industry in Fogo.  I am  also interested in creating a nonprofit organization to assist the needs, of the Cabo Verdian citizens, in the health, education and agricultural industries. I have returned to Cabo Verde, Dec 10, 2019  and I will be here until May 2020. My initial goal is to learn as much of my language (Kriole & Portugues), culture, family, history, geography, labor/business laws and the welfare needs of the local citizens, in order to establish a solid foundation, towards achieving my goals and objectives. While here, I also plan on applying for my CV citizenship, looking to rent an apartment and getting a driver's  license. I am currently residing with family, and so far, I have managed to open a bank account (BCN), pay for the education of 4 young children (ages 8-10), provided requested educational supplies to the local grammar school and I'm currently looking af adopting a young child, I met back in 2018, that was abandoned by her parents. Any  and all information concerning adoption will also be greatly appreciated. Last but not least, I am seeking information and guidance on the most cost effective method on transporting household goods and a vehicle to Cabo Verde. I know this is a large order to take on but I have committed the rest of my life towards reconnecting with my people and completing the efforts of my Grandfather. He emigrated to America, in the 1920s, to make a better life for his family and to contribute to the continued growth and success of Cabo Verd. I have been reading up on your previous posts and see that you have a wealth of knowledge and experience in the areas of my interest/passion/commitment and I would like to discuss more in detail with you, in a private email. If you are still active in assisting people repatriating or investing in Cabo Verde, please let me know how I can contact and connect with you. Thank you very much for all the support and advice you have already provided on this forum.

Hi Rebrown,

What a wonderful life objective! It's a great tribute to your grandfather and truly inspiring. Yes, I can definitely help you in more ways than you could possibly imagine.

Some quick feedback:

I plan on achieving this by establishing a small business that supports the family farm and the agricultural industry in Fogo.
This is exceptionally easy. You do this at the Casa de Cidadão. It will cost you about $200 all told (depending on what the account charges for his/her terms of responsibility for your financial recordkeeping). There is an accountant to whom I can refer you in Fogo. She is excellent.

I am also interested in creating a nonprofit organization.
This is quite a bit more complicated because a non-profit must comply with a whole differet set of regulations. There are certain steps you must follow that aren't really published anywhere. I just got done helping a religious organization establish a non-profit in Mosteiros, Fogo. It will take about 3 months to get through the process. Also, you will need to have 3 boards with 3 people each. So you will need to involve a minimum of 9 other people (trustworthy, qualified and motivated by the same objective) to run the association. You will need three people to start, who will form the Board of Directors. Then once the association is formed, you will need to immediately elect the two remaining boards (one is the Board which runs all of the official meetings of the association and the other is the Finance Board).

I also plan on applying for my CV citizenship.
You technically are already a Cape Verdean citizen since your grandfather was born in Cape Verde. You simply need to get a copy of your garndafther's birth certificate, your parents birthcertificates and yours to show the ineage, then request your nationaility certificate which will be given instantly. With the nationality certificate, you will then request your CV passport.

I have managed to open a bank account (BCN).
BCN does not have sufficient branches outside of the capital. You should also open an account with Caixa Economica. It is the largest bank and has branches even in remote communities across the archipelago. When you open the account for the Association, you should definitely do so with Caixa. DO NOT USE BCA. They are the bank with the worst customer service in the country. And their wait times are outrageous. As an emigrante, you will receive preferential treatment and services at Caixa Economica.

Any and all information concerning adoption will also be greatly appreciated.
Adopting a child is surprisingly simple. You need to make your application at the Tribunal de Menores (Children's Court) to become the "tutor" or legal guardian of the child. In CV, you cannot actually become an "adoptive" parent; instead you become the child's legal guardian. Who takes care of the child now? Is ICCA involved? If the child is in the care of ICCA, they will help you with the adoption process. As easy as it is, very few children in CV are adopted. Your initiative to adopt a needy child would certainly been welcomed by the courts.

Guidance on the most cost effective method on transporting household goods and a vehicle to Cabo Verde The most effective way to trasport your household goods from the US to CV is via Atlantic Shipping. They are located in Brockton, MA. They are a bit expensive but they have been serving the USA-CV route for decades. They will actually deliver your goods directly to the island of Fogo. It will turn out to be cheaper in the final analysis that just about every other option, becaise you will not have to arrange any transportation between Pria or Mindelo (where the international shippers will deliver your good) and Fogo. the interisland shipping is extremely expensive. So you will save on that part by using Atlantic. Finally, as a "returning" emigrante - that is what you are considered even though you were born in the US - you received 100% waivers of duties on all your household belonging and your automobile. It's a one-time benefit, so you should be sure to bring as much as you can this time. But you still need to be take care that everything you bring is clearly for your PERSONAL use. In other words, don't bring too many things that are obviously new and unused and still in the wrapper. take wrappers off everything. For example, don't bring lots of bottles of alcohol, children's clothes, etc as it may appear that you are bringing these for resale and they will not give you a waiver of duties on anything that appears not to be for your personal household use. Don't bring any business equipment although computers, laptops and a couple phones are fair game (just say that you use a computer and a laptop in each room of your house for personal entertainment LOL).

Well that's a little bit of info to get you going. I would be happy to provide you with in-depth help. Just send me a private message and we can exchange contact info. I live in Praia. I have other US clients in Fogo. If you are ever here in Praia we can certainly meet face-to-face. Otherwise, we can chat on the phone or Whatsapp.

Warm regards,

Angelo

rebrown290 wrote:

Good morning/afternoon,
I am an American born Cabo Veardian, that has recently retired in America and I'm looking to reinvest in Cabo Verde, in order to help my family in Fogo and Praia and the Cabo Verdean people.  I initially came to Cabo Verde in April 2018 and met my family in here, for the first time, and I am now committed to improving their living conditions and creating more sustainable economic opportunities. I plan on achieving this by establishing  a small business that supports the family farm and the agricultural industry in Fogo.  I am  also interested in creating a nonprofit organization to assist the needs, of the Cabo Verdian citizens, in the health, education and agricultural industries. I have returned to Cabo Verde, Dec 10, 2019  and I will be here until May 2020. My initial goal is to learn as much of my language (Kriole & Portugues), culture, family, history, geography, labor/business laws and the welfare needs of the local citizens, in order to establish a solid foundation, towards achieving my goals and objectives. While here, I also plan on applying for my CV citizenship, looking to rent an apartment and getting a driver's  license. I am currently residing with family, and so far, I have managed to open a bank account (BCN), pay for the education of 4 young children (ages 8-10), provided requested educational supplies to the local grammar school and I'm currently looking af adopting a young child, I met back in 2018, that was abandoned by her parents. Any  and all information concerning adoption will also be greatly appreciated. Last but not least, I am seeking information and guidance on the most cost effective method on transporting household goods and a vehicle to Cabo Verde. I know this is a large order to take on but I have committed the rest of my life towards reconnecting with my people and completing the efforts of my Grandfather. He emigrated to America, in the 1920s, to make a better life for his family and to contribute to the continued growth and success of Cabo Verd. I have been reading up on your previous posts and see that you have a wealth of knowledge and experience in the areas of my interest/passion/commitment and I would like to discuss more in detail with you, in a private email. If you are still active in assisting people repatriating or investing in Cabo Verde, please let me know how I can contact and connect with you. Thank you very much for all the support and advice you have already provided on this forum.

Hi CVAngelo,

A word of thnaks for your cool and informative response to readers.
I live in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. As you may know Dubai is export
hub for new, used and refurbished items please do let me know if I can
be good for your Android cellphone business.
would appreciate your indicative buying target prices of different make
and models.
Have a nice day. Best Regards
***

Hi Angelo

My name is Isabel I live in Ingland for the last 20 years but I born in Portugal my background is Cabe Verde.
I know my culture well and I speak creole my dream is to go back to Cape Verde (Sal) and build up a business for the Community but also for the tourism.
I work for many years in a Beauty Industry  and I will like to open a Spa or Hair Salon.
It is something that you would recommend?
What is the first step I should consider?

Many thanks in advance.
Isabel Moreno

Hi Isabel,

So you have Cape Verdean antecedentes. That means you may be able to adapt more quickly to the local culture. But you must know that there is a lot of bureaucracy here and it is not anything like you have been used to in Portugal or England. Be sure you come here and spend a holiday to set your expectations appropriately.

A spa is an excellent idea for Sal. I've had others suggest this idea as well but no-one has done it yet. Keep in mind that some of the hotels will have an in-house spa. So you will want to make sure your offerring is unique and exciting. You'll also need to think about your marketing strategy - reaching the tourists as well as the expats.

Of course, at this moment, there are no tourists in Sal because of the pandemic. So now would actually be a good time to start planning and preparing your business offering to be ready for when there is the rebound in tourism. So the best first step is to pay a visit to Sal and look for the perfect location. You can also register your business while you are here, and obtain your commercial license from the Chamber of Commerce. You should also start doing your business plan and marketing strategy - these you can begin even before visiting.

When you arrive, gve me a call. I would be happy to assist you with any of these tasks. Or feel free to send me a private message if you want to discuss any details. In the meantime, you can also get my eGuide to living and working in CV, which is full of details about how to settle in to Cape Verde.

Regards,

Angelo

Moreno1975 wrote:

Hi Angelo

My name is Isabel I live in Ingland for the last 20 years but I born in Portugal my background is Cabe Verde.
I know my culture well and I speak creole my dream is to go back to Cape Verde (Sal) and build up a business for the Community but also for the tourism.
I work for many years in a Beauty Industry  and I will like to open a Spa or Hair Salon.
It is something that you would recommend?
What is the first step I should consider?

Many thanks in advance.
Isabel Moreno

Hi Angelo

Thank you so much in advance very helpful response.
I got some work to do then!😊
And definitely I will keep in touch.

Thanks for creating this community is amazing work!!

All the best.
Isabel Moreno

Hi everyone, Steve coming from Belgium. I've been twice to CV and really liked it.
I'd like to move (outsource) a part of my business in CV. I'm running a tour operating business and want to outsource our english speaking call center to CV (approx 20 ppl).  I'm thinking Praia as it seems to be the biggest city so the place where we could find the best people to hire.

I have several questions.

1 : We'd like to hire local people with degrees that can speak english fluently, is Praia is the right place for that ?

2 : What is the salary range for a head of sales? Skilled Accountant ?

3 : I found out this website for finding offices to rent. Is this website reliable? => https://www.sigma.cv/

Many thanks for your feedbacks.

Steve

Hello Steve,

You have a truly outstanding idea for outsourcing a call center to CV! The cost of labor here in Cape Verde is very reasonable and helps to substantially reduce overhead/fixed costs. The government has talked about CV as an offshore call center for service businesses in Portuguese-speaking countries. However, there is really only one developed country in the world that would meet this condition - Portugal - and to me, that strategy hardly makes any sense (not enough feasible sources of business). But then again, government bureaucrats are not known to be creative thinkers.

However, you have hit upon an excellent idea. You see, although the country's official language is Portuguese, over the past 10 years, the local university has seen the light. They understand that Cape Verde must begin to produce English-speaking graduates in order to be more competitive on a global level. So they establsihed a 4-year English degree program and have been producing graduates for the past several years.

I realized that this is a unique resource that could be tapped into by foreign investors. So what did I do? I immediately connected with the students at the University (a few blocks from my own office) and began to routinely interview each year's graduating students and I keep in depth notes on each one in my own records. So I know them all. I know the ones that are the best speakers, the most motivated, the most people-oriented, the technical introverts (LOL), etc. Whenever I had a foreign client who needed a local English-speaking person to assist them with anything they needed to do (business related or other errands), I would pair them up with a student I personally selected based on what the cleint needed! It works quite well for everyone involved.

I have a client, also from Belgium, who hired one of the students from several that I presented to him for consideration for a long-term project. He is very happy with the results. I'd be happy to put you in touch with my Belgian reference so you can hear first hand what his experience has been. Just send me a private message if you'd be interested in such a reference.

Now let me answer your questions directly:

1 : We'd like to hire local people with degrees that can speak english fluently, is Praia is the right place for that ?
Praia is the perfect place to set up a call center if you wish to hire people who speak English fluently. In addition to the students who graduate from the English-degree program, you will find many locals who have lived and/or been educated in the USA and come back to Cape Verde to live and work. As I mentioned previously, I'd be happy to help you find highly qualified candidates for the 20 or so positions you envison. Note that, the going rate for such positions would likely be around €300-400 per month depending on the level of skills needed. I can also help you to navigate the employment laws (which can create unexpected challenges if you are not familiar with the rights employees have in CV).

2 : What is the salary range for a head of sales? Skilled Accountant ?
For a head of sales or a skilled accountant, you would probably have to pay somewhere between €600-900 per month depending on the qualifications and experience of the individual. I could also help you find candidates for these positions as well.

As far as accounting, it may actually be better to outsource the accounting to a professional accounting firm and hire a lower-level accounting technician to do the basic work internally. I suggest this only because Cape Verde is very paper-driven especially with respect to the accounting requirements for the government filings. A single accounting professional may be unlikely to be able to address all of the work and if you wanted to do it all internally, you'd likely have to hire several employees to staff and support an accounting department. But it is hard to really know for sure until you can describe the full scope of your business.

3 : I found out this website for finding offices to rent. Is this website reliable? => https://www.sigma.cv/
I would NOT advise you to use that website as this company targets foreign investors who do not know the reality of the commercial real estate market in CV and you may end up paying a substantially higher rent that what is actually available in the market. I can share more details in a private message.

I hope you find this helpful. Let me know if you have other questions about the feasibility and/or implementation of your proposed idea. I'd also be happy to review your business planning assunptions on a strictly confidential basis (with a signed NDA) to make sure you have not missed or understated any critical assumptions.

Best regards,

Angelo

steverichards75 wrote:

Hi everyone, Steve coming from Belgium. I've been twice to CV and really liked it.
I'd like to move (outsource) a part of my business in CV. I'm running a tour operating business and want to outsource our english speaking call center to CV (approx 20 ppl).  I'm thinking Praia as it seems to be the biggest city so the place where we could find the best people to hire.

I have several questions.

1 : We'd like to hire local people with degrees that can speak english fluently, is Praia is the right place for that ?

2 : What is the salary range for a head of sales? Skilled Accountant ?

3 : I found out this website for finding offices to rent. Is this website reliable? => https://www.sigma.cv/

Many thanks for your feedbacks.

Steve

Thanks for your feedback Angelo.

Hello everyone,

Please note that I have put aside some posts on the forum that were not in line with the forum code of conduct.

Regards

Bhavna

Hello Angelo,

I am a Portuguese citizen who lived in the UK for over 50 years. I decided to divide my time between the UK and Portugal a few years ago, I still have business interests in the UK and I also do some consultancy work through Portugal but I have no intention of setting up businesses in Portugal due to the bureaucracy and tax system in place.

Having done some research I understand the advantages of opening businesses in Cape Verde are not only fast and affordable but the Cape Verde government has many systems in place to ensure that foreign investors can enjoy many advantages such as very convenient fiscal incentives and specific benefits for investing in certain industries.

However, I could not find any information regarding incentives for startups in software development, FinTech, Data protection, etc. Would you be able to share any information regarding this sector?

I have read your post " Starting your own business in Cape Verde" on 20 January 2014.

Have there been many changes since you wrote this post?

I am planning to travel to CV for the first time, sometime in May for a couple of weeks to do further investigation and travel around the islands.

I would consider registering a startup in Data protection software in CV and exporting it worldwide. Due to the country's limited production capabilities and looking to balance its trade deficit, such companies with a mind to export would be encouraged I would have thought.

I would appreciate your feedback.

Joe

    Hello Angelo,
I am a Portuguese citizen who lived in the UK for over 50 years. I decided to divide my time between the UK and Portugal a few years ago, I still have business interests in the UK and I also do some consultancy work through Portugal but I have no intention of setting up businesses in Portugal due to the bureaucracy and tax system in place.

Having done some research I understand the advantages of opening businesses in Cape Verde are not only fast and affordable but the Cape Verde government has many systems in place to ensure that foreign investors can enjoy many advantages such as very convenient fiscal incentives and specific benefits for investing in certain industries.
However, I could not find any information regarding incentives for startups in software development, FinTech, Data protection, etc. Would you be able to share any information regarding this sector?

I have read your post " Starting your own business in Cape Verde" on 20 January 2014.
Have there been many changes since you wrote this post?

I am planning to travel to CV for the first time, sometime in May for a couple of weeks to do further investigation and travel around the islands.

I would consider registering a startup in Data protection software in CV and exporting it worldwide. Due to the country's limited production capabilities and looking to balance its trade deficit, such companies with a mind to export would be encouraged I would have thought.

I would appreciate your feedback.
Joe
   

    -@joe9151

Hi Joe,

Nothing changes too quickly in CV (can be a good thing or a bad thing) but yes, the fiscal incentives are in still in place except somewhat reduced. I think CV inherited its bureaucracy from Portugal...or the Portuguese installed it here when they colonized it LOL.

Thus, if you want to avail yourself of these benefits, you have to first register your company (which takes just a few days), apply for the fiscal benefits and then wait about 6 months for them to approve that. If you try to start operating right away (as soon as you've registered the business), you will become very frustrated trying to do things for which the benefits apply because they will keep telling you that you can't get the beneits until your application is approved. In other words, don't plan to start your business activities for at least six months. That way, they won't irritate you when they move at the pace of molasses.

There is indeed a new Technoogy park that was recently opened. If you set up shop there, they will help you get your application done more rapidly. They are trying to attract a lot of foreign investment into that tech park. The park is in a new duty free zone. This means any equipment or any imports you bring into the country and situate in this park will be considered ito in the duty free zone and will incur no import taxes unless you try to sell it to customers outisde the park. So this way you can set up a new business in the park and manufacture things or produce products that you can then ship out of the country without having paid import taxes or VAT.

If you'd like me to provide you with contact information of the officials who operate the park, I'd be happy to do so. Send me a private message and I'll provide that to you.

As you know, there isn't much info online about CV. I'm it at this moment. So let me know.

Cheers,

Angelo

@joe9151 hey Joe I'm an cape verdean, resident know in the Netherlands working as a mobile application developer.

I'm exploring my opputunities to work in cv, I know that I can work remotely as an app developer but want to also explore other options in tech. If you have an opportunity send me a message