Cabo Verde

Travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic have decimated the tourism industry worldwide, and the Cape Verde archipelago could not be an exception, aggravated by the dependence of the national economy on this sector, which represents a direct contribution of 25% of GDP and an indirect contribution of 46.2%.

Tourism revenues, which in 2019 yielded a historic maximum of 43,103 million escudos (389 million euros), are expected to decline in this year 2020 to 2005 levels and lead to the loss of more than 550,000 tourists, according to official data of the Government of Cape Verde.

This is a 70% drop, due to the pandemic that led to the closure of the borders eight months ago, pointing to a demand of just over 300 thousand tourists this year.

The socio-economic effects of COVID 19 and the challenges that this health crisis poses to the Tourism sector and beyond, in the World and in Cape Verde, it has become urgent and fundamental to reinvent practices and to create innovative and disruptive digital solutions that respond to the challenges of this new normality .

In this context, the General Directorate of Tourism and Transport and the Social Sustainability Fund for Tourism, representing the Ministry of Tourism and Transport in partnership with Cabo Verde Digital and the UNDP Accelerator LAB, launch the challenge “Re!nventa <V Turismo>” civil society and the whole community.

De modo a promover e dinamizar uma cultura empreendedora virada para a inovação de base tecnológica fomentar e premiar iniciativas que deem resposta às necessidades de transformação digital e disrupção tecnológica, através de um programa a ser implementado em 04 Fases, a saber:

Fase I Mapeamento de desafios/oportunidades;

Phase II - Call for Solutions - Ideas Contest;

Phase III - Hack the Gaps - Hackathon;

Phase IV - Presentation of the solution (MVP) and respective Model / Business Plan.

and covering 03 thematic areas:

• Accommodation and Catering;
• Travel Agencies, Tourism Guides and Taxis;
• Diversified Tourist Offers

• 1. Promote and streamline the necessary interaction between the market, the business community and the capacity for technological innovation since, the solutions to be presented have to be made based on the challenges identified and available in the Opportunities Directory
• 2. Ensure assertiveness in mapping opportunities as well as bringing the capacity for innovation closer to the real needs of the market and the national business fabric;
• 3. Encourage, evaluate and reward Projects / Innovative digital solutions and that present financially viable business plans;
• 4. Encourage research, technological experiences, innovation and digital entrepreneurship;
• 5. Promote and encourage the search and sharing of knowledge with a view to boost the digital economy with solutions that match the real needs of the market;
• 6. Promote and stimulate qualified digital entrepreneurship;

Support in the realization of ideas with potential for success.