Cape Verde Awards Best Startups After Three-Month Digital Scholarship Program
- ByStartupStory | December 5, 2025
Bolsa Cabo Verde Digital Graduates Celebrate Top Innovators In Tech Boost
The Government of Cape Verde has awarded the top-performing startups from its flagship Bolsa Cabo Verde Digital (BCVD) program, a three-month pre-incubation initiative that provided capacity building, financial support, and mentorship to 130 early-stage tech projects. The December 5, 2025, ceremony highlighted winners across categories, reinforcing the island nation’s ambition to become a digital innovation hub in West Africa.
Empowering 250+ Founders Through Intensive Training
BCVD5—launched June 23 to July 31, 2025—targeted 18-35-year-olds with ICT training or final-year studies, prioritizing unemployed youth, women-led teams (50%+ goal), and diaspora participants. Participants received 375 hours of masterclasses in market research, UI/UX prototyping, entrepreneurial formalization, and financing preparation, plus logistical support up to six times the minimum wage for co-founders.
From 250 founders and 130 startups, the program invested 30 million CVE (six-figure USD equivalent), fostering solutions in fintech, agritech, healthtech, and edtech. Top graduates advance to incubation at partner institutions like Djassi Africa and Parque Tecnológico Arquipélago Digital.
Winning Startups And Ecosystem Impact
Winners (specific names not detailed in announcements) excelled in idea validation, prototype development, and pitch readiness. The program complements Morabeza Fund (€24M initial, €60M EU boost), BOOST.CV (150 startups), Go Global (Web Summit exposure), and Reinvent Cabo Verde hackathons ($5K prizes).
Cape Verde ranks #75 globally and #2 West Africa (StartupBlink 2025), with digital sector at 5% GDP. NOSI and Cabo Verde Digital drive reforms: startup law, ZEET zone, nomad visas.
Secretary Pedro Lopes emphasized: “Cabo Verdean entrepreneurial spirit knows no borders.” Outcomes: job creation, GDP diversification, continental exports.
Roadmap For Digital Nation Ambition
BCVD6 opens 2026; ecosystem targets 500 startups, $100M investments. Challenges: infrastructure, risk aversion. Strengths: stability, diaspora, agility.
Cape Verde’s scholarships propel youth-led innovation, transforming islands into Africa’s digital beacon—one funded prototype at a time.
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