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WIPO Director General Tang Visits Cabo Verde, Announces New Support Program for Young Entrepreneurs

April 8, 2022

Director General Daren Tang announced a new WIPO-led program to support two hundred Cabo Verde entrepreneurs to use IP to take their ideas to the market during an official visit to the island nation. He also pledged WIPO's support for the development of the country's innovation ecosystem in meetings with the President, Prime Minister and other top officials as well as young innovators and creators.

During an April 5-8, 2022, visit to the capital Praia, Mr. Tang underlined the critical role played by intellectual property in helping to build the future of Cabo Verde's digital economy, support its world-renowned creative sector that has given the world Morna music and beloved musicians like Cesária Évora. WIPO also offered to work with the government to support the branding, marketing and packaging of a unique wine – Vino de Fogo – so that the product can enter into new, premium markets. 

During meetings with top Government officials, Mr. Tang shared the Organization’s vision of intellectual property (IP) as not just relevant for highly industrialized countries, but also a powerful driver of growth and development for developing countries and emerging economies.

In meeting Prime Minister José Ulisses Correia e Silva, Mr. Tang highlighted the importance of bringing IP to the grassroots by connecting the IP ecosystem to innovators, creators, entrepreneurs, start ups  and SMEs. This was echoed in his meeting with President José Maria Neves, other top Government officials as well as the President of the National Assembly Austelino Tavares Correia.

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Director General Tang and Prime Minister Correia e Silva (Photo courtesy of Government of Cabo Verde)

Mr. Tang also spoke alongside the Prime Minister at an international conference entitled “The Contribution of Intellectual Property (IP) to Promoting Innovation and the Transition to a Sustainable Economy,” at which he shared WIPO’s new vision on IP as a tool for development and the new opportunities for Cabo Verde in the digital economy, the creative industries, and as a tool to support sustainable tourism.

Cabo Verde may be a small country but it is blessed with an inventive and creative people, a growing digital infrastructure, and a geostrategic location between Europe, Africa and the Americas,” he said, noting: “This is a basis from which you can punch well above your weight.

As Cabo Verde continues its development journey, WIPO is ready to support you to use IP to bring your innovation and creativity ecosystems to the next level. In a rapidly transforming world, IP is an area of increasing strategic importance – so let us work together to seize new opportunities, overcome common challenges and make IP, innovation and creativity work for everyone, everywhere,

said Mr. Tang.

In his meeting Mr. Tang, Cabo Verde's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Regional Integration Rui Alberto de Figueiredo Soares deposited his country's instruments of accession to join WIPO's Paris Convention as well as the international systems for patents, trademarks and geographical indications - supporting Cabo Verdean individuals and enterprises to connect to international markets while easing access to the Cabo Verdean market from abroad.

Minister Soares welcomed WIPO support for the implementation of the treaties, underlining their importance in building a strong economy based on technology and innovation. Mr. Tang said the accessions represented another sign of Cabo Verde’s engagement with the multilateral system, and that WIPO was ready for these legal instruments to be transformed into actions that delivered results on the ground.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Energy Alexandre Monteiro said that the accessions give full support to country’s vision to promote innovation, investment and add value to technological and commercial creations.

Mr. Tang also met with Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Business Development and Digital Economy Olavo Avelino Garcia Correia. Mr. Tang welcomed Cabo Verde’s interest in using IP to position itself as a hub for the digital economy, and they spoke extensively on the development of the country’s first TechPark.

Mr. Correia was accompanied by State Secretary for the Digital Economy Pedro Nuno Alves Fernandes Lopes, who stressed the country’s high ambitions to climb the innovation ladder as seen in its excellent performance in the Global Innovation Index (GII) in the past couple of years. Last year, Cabo Verde was one of the standout performers in the GII, moving up 11 places to become the 4th ranked economy in Sub-Saharan Africa.

A key element in Cabo Verde’s innovation strategy is to upskill youths and entrepreneurs, including through the provision of training in coding, software and business skills like finance, Cabo Verde officials said.

The Director General welcomed this approach and pledged WIPO support to Cabo Verde to develop the culture of not just protecting IP, but also to commercializing it. Mr. Tang announced that WIPO will be supporting 200 young entrepreneurs to use IP to grow these business through training provided under the WIPO Academy. 

In a meeting with Cabo Verdean youth at the Palace of Culture Ildo Lobo, Mr. Tang listened to presentations from two young people who are working to promote innovation and creativity in collaboration with the Government,  and asked them to share their aspirations and challenges.

Mr. Tang exhorted the audience to not just see IP as a legal and technical issue but as a powerful catalyst for jobs, investments and business growth, and ultimately for economic and social development. Mr. Tang also spoke in detail with attendees on how to use IP as part of their business strategies and growth plans.

My message to the people of Cabo Verde, is that there is already a strong foundation for the transformation of your economy. You have an openness to ideas, great connections to West Africa, Europe and America, a young, dynamic population, and a unique ability to combine arts and music to innovation. But Cabo Verde now needs to seeIP as part its journey to the future as well. WIPO stands ready to help Cabo Verde on this journey, and will support it in its implementation of the National IP Strategy.

Mr. Tang said.

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