Science and technology in Cape Verde
Cape Verde remains a model for political rights and civil liberties in Africa, according to a 2014 country study by the African Development Bank.
Thanks to its sustained economic performance, this isolated and fragmented territory with a dry Sahelian climate and scarce natural resources acceded to the World Bank's middle-income category in 2011.
In order to maintain the momentum, the government has devised its third Growth and Poverty Strategy P,aper covering the period 2012–2016.
Expanding the coverage of health service delivery and human capital development have been designated priority areas to ensure inclusive growth, with an emphasis on technical and vocational training.
[5] Cape Verde's literacy rate is the highest in West Africa: 98% of young people between the ages of 15 and 24 were literate in 2012.
The same year, 93% of children attended secondary school in Cape Verde (up from 85% in 2009), compared to an average of 46% for West Africa as a whole.
In December 2010, it joined the West African Cable System project to provide residents with an alternative access route to high-speed internet.
As the cost remains high, the government provides centres where people can surf the internet free of charge.
[6] According to the 2017 International Telecommunication Union Report, Cabo Verde ranks fourth in Africa in the ICT Development Index.
By early 2015, the Mundu Novu education plan had equipped 18 schools and training centres with internet access, installed the Wimax antenna network across the country, produced teaching kits on ICTs for 433 classrooms in 29 pilot schools (94% of all classrooms), given university students access to digital libraries and introduced courses in information technology, in addition to implementing an Integrated Management and Monitoring System for university students.
The Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Culture plans to strengthen the research and academic sectors by placing emphasis on greater mobility, through exchange programmes and international co-operation agreements.
The main collaborators of researchers from Cape Verde between 2008 and 2014 were Portuguese (42 articles), Spanish (23), British (15 ), American (11) and German (8) scientists.
Vision 2020 proposes a road map for improving governance, accelerating economic and monetary integration and fostering public–private partnerships.
Countries are urged to promote efficient, viable small and medium-sized enterprises and to expose traditional agriculture to modern technology, entrepreneurship and innovation, in order to improve productivity.
[4] ECOPOST provides a framework for member states wishing to improve – or elaborate for the first time – their own national policies and action plans for science, technology and innovation.
[4] ECOPOST advocates the development of a science culture in all sectors of society, including through science popularization, the dissemination of research results in local and international journals, the commercialization of research results, greater technology transfer, intellectual property protection, stronger university–industry ties and the enhancement of traditional knowledge.
[9] The West Africa Institute was established in Praia in 2010 to provide the missing link between policy and research in the regional integration process.
The think tank also organizes political and scientific dialogues between policy-makers, regional institutions and members of civil society.
The institute is the fruit of a public–private partnership involving ECOWAS, the West African Economic and Monetary Union, UNESCO, the pan-African Ecobank and the Government of Cape Verde.
