CVTelecom solidifies Cape Verde's role as an African connectivity hub
Cape Verde is solidifying its position as a key African connectivity platform, largely due to the efforts of CVTelecom. For the third consecutive year, the island of Sal hosted the Global Carrier Connectivity Meeting (GCCM) Africa, the continent's largest international telecommunications operator gathering. This year's event saw record participation and has now secured Cape Verde as the permanent annual host, with the event scheduled for June each year going forward.
CVTelecom's executive administrator, Isa Neves, stated that this success reflects the company's strategy to establish Cape Verde as a leading connectivity hub linking Africa, Europe, and the Americas. The initiative to bring GCCM to Cape Verde began in 2023, with Neves proposing the country to the event's CEO, Wida Schmitz, who had been seeking an African host. Despite initial logistical concerns regarding air travel, hotel capacity, and event organization, CVTelecom demonstrated the nation's capability to host such a significant international event.
The event has grown consistently since its first edition, with the third edition seeing over a 20% increase in participants compared to the previous year. GCCM serves as a global platform for over 300 telecommunications operators to share knowledge, discuss market trends, and develop business opportunities. Beyond technical discussions, the event facilitates significant commercial exchanges, with operators buying and selling capacity. CVTelecom leverages this to strengthen its international presence and forge strategic partnerships.
CVTelecom's strategy involves expanding beyond the national market by selling international capacity to operators in Europe, Africa, and the Americas. The EllaLink and WACS submarine cables, initially for internal connectivity, now carry international traffic between continents, reaching Brazil, the United States, and various European and African markets. This international focus is driven by the limitations of the domestic market of approximately 500,000 inhabitants, necessitating international operations to monetize investments in modern, resilient network infrastructure. The company aims to ensure low latency, high availability, and redundancy, which require substantial investment difficult to sustain solely from the domestic market.
Future infrastructure priorities include upgrading inter-island submarine cables nearing the end of their lifespan and developing more advanced data centers. CVTelecom already operates a data center and plans a larger, more technologically sophisticated facility to meet the demand for secure, resilient, and certified data hosting. This expansion is expected to attract more foreign companies utilizing the country's infrastructure. The GCCM has already yielded concrete results, including identifying potential new data center clients and securing a significant new contract with a Senegalese operator. Negotiations with Angola Cables and MEO (Portugal) have also advanced, particularly concerning submarine cable capacity sales and potential resource optimization through capacity exchange.
CVTelecom envisions Cape Verde becoming a regional hub for connectivity, data hosting, digital services, and skilled job creation. However, Neves emphasizes that this digital development must be inclusive, ensuring access for all citizens regardless of their location, as the company continues to invest in expanding network coverage.
The sustained hosting of the Global Carrier Connectivity Meeting (GCCM) in Cape Verde, spearheaded by CVTelecom, highlights a strategic national effort to leverage its geographical position as a digital bridge between continents. This initiative appears to be a calculated response to the inherent limitations of a small domestic market, driving the need for international revenue streams to justify significant investments in advanced telecommunications infrastructure, such as submarine cables and data centers. The success of GCCM demonstrates a potential model for developing nations to ascend the global digital value chain, moving beyond basic connectivity to offering specialized services and attracting foreign investment. However, the long-term viability of this strategy will depend on continuous infrastructure upgrades, maintaining a competitive edge in a rapidly evolving technological landscape, and ensuring that the benefits of this digital transformation are equitably distributed across the archipelago, aligning with stated goals of inclusive development.
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