African Development Bank President Donald Kaberuka has praised Cape Verde for its development achievements, which have led the country to graduate from low-income to middle-income country.
According to AfDB, Cape Verde is the first example in Africa of “policy-induced graduation” instead of natural resources-fueled graduation. The country is considered resource-poor, with its arid Sahelian climate and minimal arable land.
“Rich natural resources endowment does of course help, but here is evidence that no matter how bad the initial conditions, with good governance, solid institutions, and a peaceful political and social climate, take off is possible,” said Kaberuka while visiting Cape Verde.
With its middle-income country status, Cape Verde has gained larger access to all AfDB windows, which the bank said would help the government continue implementing its Economic Transformation Strategy. For the 2010-2013 period, AfDB has earmarked around 110.38 million euros (USD146.7 million) as sustainable ceiling of funding for the African nation under the bank’s non-concessional window.
