AfroSmartSpot: The project that wants to get Príncipe Island pedalling, for people and for the planet
newspaper GreenSavers · 11/11/2025
AfroSmartSpot aims to transform mobility on Príncipe Island, and eventually on São Tomé Island too. The main goal is to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector and create lifestyles aligned with protecting the planet, human communities and biodiversity.
The AfroSmartSpot project wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector by promoting sustainable mobility through electric bicycles.
Príncipe Island is the stage for an emerging movement that is expected to transform mobility in this autonomous region of the São Tomé and Príncipe archipelago. The ultimate aim is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and align the region, and later the country, with the principles of protecting the planet, tackling climate change and biodiversity loss, and promoting the sustainability of human societies.
This momentum is being driven by the AfroSmartSpot pilot project, launched last October by the Regional Government of Príncipe and implemented by the Efrican Foundation. The initiative is funded by Instituto Camões, through the Environmental Fund of the Portuguese Ministry of the Environment and Energy.
The Roadmap estimated that Príncipe’s transport sector is the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for close to 11% of the Autonomous Region’s total emissions.
Last October, 14 electric bicycles were delivered to public bodies, tourism operators and private-sector representatives in the town of Santo António, on Príncipe. The initiative also included the installation of solar charging stations for the bicycles and local training in the maintenance and repair of these electric vehicles.
“This was the motto for intervening in this mobility segment, by introducing accessible and sustainable alternatives,” says Julieta Sansana, of Efrican’s executive board and the project coordinator.
As for the future, the promoting organisations believe the project has the potential to be replicated on São Tomé Island, or even on other islands and regions with similar realities.