Cape Verde Creates Investment Agency

As Cape Verde increasingly becomes a tourism hotspot, the government has decided to create a new body: the Agency for Tourism and Investment in Cape Verde. The agency will be tasked with developing better conditions for investment, both foreign and domestic. In addition, the group will look to qualify and diversify the tourism sector.

Currently, tourism in Cape Verde contributes around 20% of the nation’s gross domestic product. The government want to increase this, as well as taking steps to make the country more accessible to foreign investment. The tourism agency will be chaired by Julio Morais, Cape Verde’s former Ambassador to China, and will be based in three regional areas: in the north on Saint Vincent island, the central island of Sal, and the southern island of Santiago. In a statement from the government, they said they would “continue to invest in improving the business climate, transforming it into a competitive factor and to create innovative tools and techniques to promote tourism.”

In the last decade, Cape Verde has welcomed a growing number of tourists each year. Meanwhile, its property market has grown considerably, and shows no signs of slowing down in 2016. Booming tourism will have a positive knock-on effect for the real estate sector, with growing demand expected for private villas, beachfront holiday resorts and holiday rental properties. As long as visitors keep flowing to the island, the property sector is expected to grow.

Cape Verde’s ongoing rise in prosperity is largely linked to the rising tourism level that the country is experiencing. Combined with a stable, democratic governmental structure, the nation is generating more and more tourism in line with its clearly defined strategy. Foreign investment in recent years has enabled key infrastructure changes to be made, along with new leisure developments, modern transport and telecommunications links, and utilities.

There are some major benefits for foreign investors wanting to buy property in Cape Verde. For one, the country is able to provide consistent capital growth and rental returns on real estate. There is a consistent demand around the year thanks to its climate, which is exceptional, and unlike many other destinations, does not experience a low season when temperatures would typically fall. The country also has a low crime rate and is relatively safe. In addition, the government has put strict legislation in place to protect investment. For example, regulations only allow low density and low level projects to proceed. This means that the number of new properties for development is restricted, to ensure that Cape Verde’s look and feel is not disturbed. Much of the country’s land is also protected and cannot be sold to developers. As such, buyers can be confident that supply will not suddenly outstrip demand.

Finally, the relatively small size of Cape Verde limits the scope of development. Unlike in vast nations like Turkey, Egypt and Brazil, where construction can sprawl across the landscape, Cape Verde’s development potential is finite. It means that there is a feeling of exclusivity about owning property. It means that the nation is perfectly placed for optimised property investment, providing foreign buyers with a consistent and high level of return for years to come.