(AfDB ) - The government of Cabo Verde has launched a project to propel the development of vibrant capital markets in the country.

The Bank approved a $350,000 grant from its Capital Markets Development Trust Fund in October 2021 to help develop the country’s first-ever Capital Markets Masterplan. The funds will also facilitate the expansion of domestic fixed-income markets by upgrading existing infrastructure.

During the virtual launch held on 1 February 2022, Cabo Verde’s Vice Prime Minister Olavo Correia said the project would result in a more dynamic, technologically advanced capital market, with greater liquidity. “The African Development Bank has been an important development partner of Cabo Verde since independence, and now, once again, the Bank is doing so by supporting one of the main instruments for enabling and promoting sustainable investment and savings through the Cabo Verde Stock Exchange.”

African Development Bank Deputy Director General for West Africa, Joseph Ribeiro, said: “The project we are supporting will help Cabo Verde’s efforts to deepen and widen local domestic resource mobilization needed for economic diversification and the delivery of national development plans. It is in line with both Cabo Verde and African Development Bank priorities.”

The local stock exchange, Bolsa de Valores de Cabo Verde, will execute the project in partnership with the domestic capital markets ecosystem. Marcia Teixeira Marçal, Executive Director at the BVC, said he believes the initiative will create business opportunities for companies, investors, operators and other stakeholders, “for which we are very grateful for this partnership with the African Development Bank.”

The objectives of the project are aligned with the priorities of the Bank’s Country Strategy for Cabo Verde, which seeks to build the foundations for economic diversification and inclusive growth. The Capital Markets Development Trust Fund is a multi-donor grant facility that supports the Bank’s efforts to mobilize domestic resources to finance Africa’s development. Administered by the African Development Bank, the Trust Fund is currently supported by two donors: the Ministry of Finance of Luxembourg and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Cooperation of the Netherlands.