Praia, Cabo Verde – Cabo Verde took a significant step forward in shaping its national roadmap under the Global Accelerator by hosting its second Presentation and Validation Workshop on 19 November in Praia. The workshop was convened by the Ministry of Finance, in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO), as part of the SDG SEEDS Fund Project aligned with the Global Accelerator.
Building on the first consultation workshop held earlier this year, the session brought together national institutions, social partners, academia, civil society, and international development partners, including the Portuguese Embassy, EU, World Bank, ILO, and other UN agencies. The aim was to validate the strategic approach of the roadmap and define the final parameters for implementation.
The five priorities identified for the roadmap are:
- Future-oriented decent employment and human capital development
- Formalisation with a focus on self-employment, youth, and women’s entrepreneurship
- Social protection for opportunities and productive inclusion
- Social protection for social inclusion, income redistribution, and care
- Long-term social inclusion: ensuring 100% of children and young people are in education or vocational training
These priorities reflect the national ambition to accelerate progress in reducing extreme poverty and strengthening social inclusion, while ensuring stronger links between employment, skills development, and social protection policies. Additionally, three cross-cutting accelerators have already been identified to drive operationalization across these priorities, laying the groundwork for impactful and coordinated action.
The roadmap seeks to strengthen Cabo Verde’s social protection system, ensuring adequate and effective coverage for all workers, while advancing a more inclusive, productive, and resilient labour market. It outlines the country’s ambitions to create decent jobs, expand social security coverage, promote formalization, and reinforce strong labour relations, with a dedicated focus on gender equality, social dialogue, and decent work creation. Through the Global Accelerator and the roadmap, the persistent structural challenges that the country aims to tackle are eradication of youth not in employment, education or training (NEET), strengthening human capital, and unlocking catalytic sectors of the economy.
The roadmap is being developed through a participatory, nationally-led process coordinated by the National Directorate of Planning, with ongoing work to refine sectoral focus, target groups, and integrated policy measures. The roadmap is poised to become one of the most important guiding documents for Cabo Verde in the coming years, according to Mr Gilson Pina, National Planning Director, as it integrates national strategies on employment, social protection, social inclusion, and economic development to promote truly inclusive growth.
The workshop marked another important milestone in building national ownership and aligning efforts toward accelerated progress on decent jobs, universal social protection, and inclusive development.