The Enabling Environment for Sustainable Enterprises in Sao Tomé e Principe

In 2019, the ILO has carried out an assessment of Sao Tomé and Principe’s Enabling Environment for Sustainable Enterprises as part of the project "The capacities of employers' and workers' organizations to participate effectively in the development of labour and social policies are enhanced.”

The EESE process began in July 2019 with a secondary data analysis, which identified the main constraints to the business environment and assessed Sao Tomé and Principe’s performance against other countries in the region, including Cape Verde, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea.

The results of the analysis were presented at a tripartite workshop held in October 2019. At the workshop, which was attended by representatives of the government, the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Services (CCIAS), and trade unions, the tripartite constituents validated the results of the secondary analysis and identified 5 priority areas for reform: enabling legal and regulatory environment, good governance, adequate social protection, responsible environmental management, and social dialogue. The results of this first phase of the process led to the assessment report (in Portuguese), which was at the basis for the next phase of the process, namely the definition of the reform action plans.

After a pause due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the Country, the process re-started in Spring 2021: the national constituents were provided with a summarized version of the assessment (available in French and in Portuguese), which was discussed in a tripartite workshop, leading to the adoption of three action plans, focusing on Good Governance, environmental protection, and social dialogue.