SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Many World Cup fans might be hearing about Cabo Verde for the first time - small country off the coast of West Africa that made an impressive World Cup debut in Atlanta, playing the mighty team from Spain into a 0-0 draw. As Marlon Hyde from member station WABE reports, the island nation hopes to use its first World Cup appearance to court U.S. investment.
MARLON HYDE, BYLINE: A sea of blue-and-white soccer jerseys, along with Cape Verdean flags, celebrates the country's first-ever appearance in the World Cup at a business center for Black entrepreneurs in downtown Atlanta.
JENNIFER BARBOSA: It's amazing. It's exciting.
HYDE: That's Jennifer Barbosa. She is a Cape Verdean and an Atlanta business owner.
BARBOSA: We are the underdogs. But it is a huge opportunity for us to show the rest of the world who we are as a people, our culture.
HYDE: She helped organize this event to introduce her native country to the world and to Atlanta. She wants to tell the hundreds of attendees...
BARBOSA: Why you should consider investing in Cabo Verde, why it's an opportunity, and especially for our Black businesses.
HYDE: To drive the point home, she invited the president of Cabo Verde, Jose Maria Neves, with his translator, Adelaide Lima.
ADELAIDE LIMA: The presence of Cabo Verde in this World Cup is not only in terms of football - because it opens other avenues for the country, for investments in the country.
HYDE: Cabo Verde has a population of just over half a million people. Its location off the coast of Senegal made it a hub for the transatlantic slave trade. The country gained independence from Portugal only about 50 years ago. Today it relies heavily on tourism. It has white-sand beaches and great weather, which accounts for a quarter of its economy. President Neves says they're looking to grow in tech and renewable energy.
LIMA: The idea is to bring - to attract people, investors to come and see the opportunities, the existing possibilities and take the advantage of them.
HYDE: Both in business and in soccer, Cape Verdeans say their country should not be underestimated.
For NPR News, I'm Marlon Hyde in Atlanta. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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