Cape Verde Company Search Guide 2026: How to Verify a Cape Verdean Business

TL;DR. Cape Verde’s business registry (Registo Comercial) is accessible through the EASE portal at ease.gov.cv, Cape Verde’s one-stop digital business services platform. The interface is Portuguese-only, but Cape Verde has one of the more functional digital government platforms in West Africa. Basic company search appears to be available without account creation. Cape Verde is not on the FATF grey list and is generally considered a lower-risk African jurisdiction.

Who searches for Cape Verdean company information, and why it’s hard

Cape Verde is a small island-state of 500,000+ people in the Atlantic, 570 km off the coast of West Africa. Its economy is driven by tourism, remittances, and financial services. As a Portuguese-speaking ECOWAS observer state and a Lusophone country with historical ties to Portugal, Cape Verde attracts foreign buyers primarily from Portugal, Brazil, and other Lusophone markets, as well as European tourism sector investors and African regional operators.

The search challenge is primarily linguistic (Portuguese-only interfaces) and scale-related (small economy means limited digitised data available externally, and corporate structures are often small). Cape Verde has invested in e-government services, making it more accessible than many of its African peers, but the EASE portal is still developing its full capabilities.

Registry at a glance

Name: Registo Comercial (Commercial Register). In Cape Verde, the business registration system is integrated into the EASE (Empresa em Africa do Sector Empresarial) or “Empresa no Dia” platform, meaning “company in a day,” which coordinates registration, tax enrollment, and licensing in a single window.

Operator: Ministry of Justice and Labour (Ministerio da Justica e Trabalho) has oversight of the commercial register. The Instituto de Gestao e Administracao Publica (IGAP) or Casa do Cidadao manages the digital services platform through which companies are registered and searched.

URL: ease.gov.cv. The Casa do Cidadao portal at casadocidadao.cv may also provide links to registry services. [VERIFY: Exact URL and public search scope on ease.gov.cv as of 2026-05-17.]

What is covered: The Registo Comercial covers all commercial entities formed under Cape Verdean company law: Sociedade por Quotas (SpQ, equivalent to a private limited company), Sociedade Anonima (SA, public limited), Sociedade em Nome Colectivo (general partnership), Sociedade em Comandita (limited partnership), and sole traders (empresario em nome individual). Branches of foreign companies are also registered.

Access model: Cape Verde’s EASE platform allows online company registration and, to some extent, online search and document ordering. Account creation may allow access to more detailed data or certified document ordering. Basic name presence checks may be possible without an account.

How to search

Step 1: Navigate to EASE. Go to ease.gov.cv. The interface is in Portuguese. Look for a “Pesquisa” (search) or “Consulta de Empresas” function.

Step 2: Enter company details. You can search by company name or by the NIFE (Numero de Identificacao Fiscal da Empresa, the Cape Verdean company tax number). If your counterparty has provided their NIFE, use it as the primary search key.

Step 3: Review basic results. An online search should return the company name, legal form, registration status, and possibly the registered address. For full director and shareholder details, a certified extract may be required.

Step 4: Request a certified extract. For KYC-grade verification, request a certidao de registo comercial. Options include:

• Online ordering through the EASE platform (if account registration provides this functionality).
• In-person at the Casa do Cidadao offices in Praia (Santiago Island, capital) or Mindelo (Sao Vicente).
• Via a local agent or law firm: Cape Verdean lawyers and commercial agents based in Praia handle extract requests for foreign clients.

Step 5: Island-specific considerations. Cape Verde is an archipelago of 10 islands with residents distributed across multiple islands. Companies registered on islands other than Santiago may have registrations held at local notary offices or courts, not only in Praia. Confirm the island of registration if the company is not Praia-based.

What you can find

A certified Registo Comercial extract for a Cape Verdean entity typically includes:

• Company name (denominacao social)
• NIFE (tax identification number)
• Legal form (SpQ, SA, branch, sole trader)
• Status: active, dissolved, or struck off
• Registered address (sede social)
• Date of incorporation
• Business activity (objeto social)
• Share capital (capital social) in Cape Verde escudos (CVE)
• Director(s)/manager(s): names and capacity
• Partners/shareholders: quota composition for SpQ entities

Financial statements and UBO data are not standard components of a commercial register extract in Cape Verde.

What is missing

• Beneficial ownership: Cape Verde does not have a publicly accessible UBO registry as of mid-2026. FATF recommendations for beneficial ownership transparency have not yet been implemented through a public register. Direct disclosure from the counterparty is required.
• Financial statements: Not published via the commercial register. Cape Verdean companies file accounts with the Servico de Registo das Empresas or tax authority, but these are not routinely publicly available.
• Litigation records: Not part of the commercial register. Court records are at the Tribunal Judicial of each island.
• Offshore structures: Some Cape Verdean entities may have ownership structures passing through offshore jurisdictions; this is not visible from the commercial register.

Pricing

Exchange rate reference: CVE/USD approximately 100:1 (May 2026, approximate; CVE is pegged to EUR). Verify at Banco de Cabo Verde (bcv.cv). The EUR peg provides exchange rate stability relative to most African currencies.

English availability and practical access

There is no English interface on the EASE portal or other Cape Verdean government registry platforms. All processes are in Portuguese. For foreign buyers without Portuguese language capability, engagement of a local agent or a Portuguese-language-capable compliance analyst is necessary.

Cape Verde’s relatively strong digital governance and smaller-scale economy make it more tractable than many African peers. Several Cape Verdean law firms and Portuguese-speaking consultancies (including Lisbon-based firms with Cape Verde practices) handle company verification requests.

Alternatives when the registry is limited

• In-country legal counsel: Praia-based lawyers with commercial law expertise are the most reliable route for certified extracts and supplementary checks.
• Portuguese law firm networks: Several Portuguese law firms (including Garrigues, PLMJ, and others) have Cape Verde desks and can handle verification requests.
• Banco de Cabo Verde (BCV): bcv.cv for financial sector licensing information on banks and insurance companies.
• ECOWAS Observer Status: Cape Verde is an ECOWAS observer state; regional economic integration context is useful for trade-related due diligence.
• Open Ownership: Cape Verde has not published a public beneficial ownership register as of mid-2026.

Compliance buyer notes

Cape Verde is not on the FATF grey list and is generally considered one of the more stable and governance-capable small African states. It has consistently ranked as one of the better performers in African governance indices (Mo Ibrahim Index).

Key compliance considerations:

• Lower risk relative to peers: Cape Verde’s stable democracy, small economy, and Atlantic location remove many of the conflict and governance risks present in Sahel or Great Lakes African jurisdictions. AML/CFT risk is lower but not absent.
• Financial sector regulation: The BCV supervises Cape Verde’s banking and financial sector. For financial institution counterparties, verify BCV licensing status.
• Remittance flows: Cape Verde has a large diaspora (particularly in Portugal and the Netherlands) with material remittance flows. Businesses in the financial services sector may have exposure to remittance compliance issues.
• Tourism and real estate: Cape Verde’s tourism-driven economy means real estate and hospitality sector companies are common counterparties. These are typical AML/CFT-sensitive sectors due to large cash flows; standard EDD applies.
• No OFAC country sanctions: Cape Verde is not subject to any complete OFAC sanctions program. Individual screening remains required.

For standard due diligence on a Cape Verdean commercial counterparty, the primary verified-registry extract supplemented by a PEP/sanctions screen is usually sufficient for most compliance frameworks. Enhanced due diligence should be applied for financial sector, real estate, or high-value transactions.

Last verified: May 2026. Sources: EASE Cape Verde (ease.gov.cv); Banco de Cabo Verde (bcv.cv); FATF Cape Verde country page (fatf-gafi.org); African Development Bank Cape Verde country page (afdb.org).