What are the Top 10 Things You Should Do To Invest in Cape Verde?

The word is out there- Cape Verde is the new hot thing! As Prime Minister Neves stated, "Kabu Verdi sta na moda!"
In fact, the country offers a semi-virgin and untapped market with lots of money making opportunities. Sharp Europeans and Asian investors are seizing the moment. They are pouring millions of dollars in projects of all nature. "The archipelago has received around US$1 billion in foreign investment, a figure which has grown since 2001," reported Cabo Verde Investments (http://www.macauhub.com.mo/en/news.php?ID=4096). Specifically, the main pieces of the cake is in tourism and real state: beach front properties in a tropical country with sun all year long is scare but valuable commodity in the world today; but Cape Verde has plenty of that to offer.



Like the foreign investors, many Cape Verdeans in the Diaspora wants to seize the opportunity while helping their fellow country men and women. While avoiding exploiting the locals, they want to invest in the many nearly untapped fields in the country. And they are right on the ball! "According to CVI’s projections, foreign in the archipelago will total US$7.8 billion between 2007 and 2011, and will create 31,882 jobs, and its main beneficiary will be Santiago Island, which will likely receive a third of total investment." To pursue their goals, many Cape Verdeans business men and women from US and Cape Verde, got together and created CA.B.O. - Capeverdean American Business Organization - that was officially lauched by Prime Minister Neves in a gala dinner last Saturday at Bridgwater State College.

Although investing in Cape Verde is a smart move for savvy business owners and entrepreneurs, it is very challenging. In fact, some investors got frustrated with the whole process and failed. Others were patience, and ended up getting their business up and running with promising bottom lines. Therefore, it seems that there is a right and wrong way to go about investing in those tropical islands.

With a careful and thought out strategic one has a good chance to do well. That's way we are starting this discussion about the Top 10 Things you Should do to Invest in Cape Verde. What is the right process to follow about investing back in the homeland? Who are the key contacts you should make there? Who should you invite for a business lunch? How should you go about avoiding the headache from the bureaucracy and regulations the system impose on you? What are the key steps to go about getting things done in government agencies and private sector?

First, do your homework and don't make decisions based on emotions. In other words, do a thorough research on what are the lucrative businesses in CV, what are the government requirements and legal procedures you have to follow, find out the current status of the investment field in the country, get in touch with PROMEX and other investment organizations there, and then strategically (maybe with the help of a local consultant) choose the type of business you want to be in. Do not act on patriotism or the innate desire to solve the poverty of the country because those won't take you far. When you plan to make a business investment, the primary goal is to make profits and not to abolish the poverty from the country. Those should be the secondary effects of your actions and are way beyond your reach. .
Also, never put all your cash in your investment. A wise investor makes money with someone else's money - bank's, and other people/ Financing institutions. All you have to do is to come up with a good business idea and plan, put it into a nice PowerPoint presentation, and use your people skills to convince the folks with money.