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National Blueprint · One of 195

São Tomé and Príncipe

Two islands on the equator in the Gulf of Guinea, home to 240,000 people, where visitors earn most of the export income and forests cover more than half the land.

Perfect Nations values what São Tomé and Príncipe owns and raises capital against it, through innovative financing for development (FfD) and super intelligence (SI).

São Tomé and Príncipe at a glance

Work with usRead the Letter to São Tomé and Príncipe

What we do for São Tomé and Príncipe

Assets. Capital. Solutions.

Perfect Nations is a new-age sovereign advisory firm, and its clients are nations.

  1. 01AssetsThe cupFive sovereign assets, valued, from The Visitors to The People.
  2. 02CapitalThe laurels4 instruments and investments on record, every one sourced.
  3. 03SolutionsThe seven starsSeven basic standards of living, star by star. Energy is furthest from reach today.

The whole logo: a Perfect Nation, where every citizen has all seven basic standards of living, led by good governance.

01Assets · The cup · Sovereign Assets

Five assets no balance sheet counts.

Each is owned today, earns today, and can carry São Tomé and Príncipe toward seven basic standards of living for every citizen.

  • 73.2%Of export earnings from visitors, 2018

    The Visitors

    Volcanic peaks, cocoa plantations and beaches on the equator: visitors already earn most of the export income.

  • 57.6%Of the land under forest, 2024

    The Forest

    Standing forest that stores carbon and water, and can earn as it stands.

  • 44.8%Of the land in agriculture, 2023

    The Farmland

    Cocoa and coffee plantations: fine harvests that can earn a premium.

  • 9,633 m³Renewable fresh water a person, 2022

    The Fresh Water

    Rain and rivers renewed every year: power, irrigation and drinking water.

  • 240,254Citizens, 2025

    The People

    37.5% are under fifteen: the workforce and the market of the next generation.

Every figure, with its sourceThe Sovereign Assets ledger

02Capital · The laurels · Capital Architecture

Islands that earn from visitors and the forest.

Bonds, guarantees, swaps and loans that raise capital against what São Tomé and Príncipe owns, every line sourced.

Capital Architecture

The record in figures

  • 73.2%Tourism receipts, share of export earnings, 2018World Bank, 2018
  • 59.1%General government gross debt, share of GDP, 2025IMF, WEO Oct 2026
  • $38MClean, resilient electricity under the regional ASCENT programme, approved November 2023World Bank, 2023
  • $14.4MCoastal Resilience and Sustainable Tourism Project, approved April 2024World Bank, 2024

Capital already committed

  • MultilateralApprovedAccess to Clean Resilient Electricity (ASCENT)$38M

    IDA · Approved 28 November 2023

    Clean and reliable power under a regional programme.

    World Bank

    Source
  • MultilateralApprovedCoastal Resilience and Sustainable Tourism Project$14.4M

    IDA · Approved 12 April 2024

    Protects the coast and the visitor economy built on it.

    World Bank

    Source
  • MultilateralApprovedThird COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Development Policy Financing$15M

    IDA · Approved 29 August 2023

    Budget support to restore macroeconomic stability.

    World Bank

    Source
  • MultilateralDisbursingExtended Credit Facility

    IMF · First review and 2025 Article IV, Board 31 July 2025

    Outstanding IMF credit stood at SDR 31.36 million on 31 March 2026.

    IMF

    Source

Already working in São Tomé and Príncipe.

Independent firms and social enterprises already at work in São Tomé and Príncipe, highlighted by Perfect Nations. None is a partner of Perfect Nations.

Suggest an enterprise

  • The first firms and social enterprises at work in São Tomé and Príncipe are being gathered.

    Name one already at work there: it may be highlighted here, with its source.

03Solutions · The seven stars · Perfect Capita

Perfect São Tomé and Príncipe, star by star.

Perfect Capita is the yearly cost, per person, of lifting everyone above the Living Line in all seven basic living standards, set with São Tomé and Príncipe in its own prices.

How Perfect Capita works
São Tomé and Príncipe: the seven stars of the logo, one for each basic standard of living, rising from the cup; Food is the larger centre star. Each star carries the figure for São Tomé and Príncipe.WATER36.7%SHELTER17.6%ENERGY7%FOOD45.4%EDUCATION74.9HEALTH60LIVELIHOOD44.5%
7%
Energy · furthest from reach7% cook with clean fuels and technology; 77.7% have electricityWorld Bank, 2024

Tap a star for its figure and source.

The price of Perfect São Tomé and Príncipe

To be set with São Tomé and Príncipe, from its own figures and in its own prices: Perfect Capita times the people of São Tomé and Príncipe, each year.

Read more
  • Food45.4%Not food insecure; 54.6% are moderately or severely food insecureFAO, 2022
  • Water36.7%Safely managed drinking waterWHO/UNICEF, 2024
  • Shelter17.6%City dwellers outside slums; 82.4% live in slumsUN-Habitat, 2022
  • Energy7%7% cook with clean fuels and technology; 77.7% have electricityWorld Bank, 2024
  • Education74.974.9% of young people complete lower secondary school; 2017, datedWorld Bank, 2017
  • Health60WHO service coverage indexWHO, 2023
  • Livelihood44.5%Above the national poverty line; 55.5% live below it, datedWorld Bank, 2017

Perfect Nations estimate, to be confirmed with São Tomé and Príncipe. Figures marked dated rest on surveys more than five years old; lenient measures are marked as such. The strict measures

Strict measures. Food: share not moderately or severely food insecure (FAO). Water: safely managed drinking water where measured; where it is not, basic water, marked as such. Shelter: the lower of safely managed sanitation and the share outside urban slums. Energy: the lower of electricity per person against 1,000 kWh and clean cooking; where electricity per person is not published, clean cooking. Education: the lower of children reading by the end of primary school and lower-secondary completion. Health: WHO service coverage index. Livelihood: share above the stricter of the national poverty line and the World Bank line for the nation’s income group (US$8.30 a day for high-income nations). Each figure links to its source.

Solutions for Perfect São Tomé and Príncipe

All Solutions

  • The Solution for São Tomé and PríncipeEnergy

    Finance clean power and clean cooking at national scale.

    • 01The challenge93% Of Santomeans still cook without clean fuels. World Bank, 2024
    • 02The dealAt work in São Tomé and Príncipe: Access to Clean Resilient Electricity (ASCENT), $38M. Source
    • 03What Perfect Nations advisesNations where energy is furthest from reach should issue a sovereign green bond ring-fenced for clean power and clean cooking. With super intelligence, the switch can be priced for every household still cooking with wood, charcoal or kerosene, and every project the bond finances reported to investors.
    Co-design it inThe ReDesign StudioThe three mandates
Perfect Nations® · Letters to the NationsSão Tomé and Príncipe

Dear São Tomé and Príncipe,

You are two islands on the equator, and the visitors who come for your forests and beaches already earn most of what you sell abroad.

Read more

Only seven households in a hundred cook with clean fuel, and more than eight in ten city dwellers live in slums. Let the visitor economy finance the power and the homes of every family.

“Visitors already pay for the islands’ beauty. Let them pay for the islands’ basics too.”

Yours in design,Preeti SinhaPresident and CEO, Perfect Nations

Work with us · The ReDesign Studio

The Perfect São Tomé and Príncipe ReDesign Studio

One mission, three depths: the same four moves for São Tomé and Príncipe, taken as far toward market as you choose.

Read more

For the Government of São Tomé and Príncipe, its development partners and investors. Scope and fees are agreed in writing before any work begins.

  1. 01Identify the assets
  2. 02Estimate Perfect Capita
  3. 03Co-design the capital architecture
  4. 04Launch the instruments

  1. Mandate 013 hours

    The Nation Briefing

    A private session for the people who decide.

    You leave withThe gap, named and sized

    Read more
    1. 01The five sovereign assets on this page, walked through.
    2. 02Energy, the standard furthest from reach, and the Gap, explained.
    3. 03The instruments that could close the Gap, shortlisted.
    4. 04The path to market, outlined.
    Request a Nation Briefing

  2. Mandate 023 days

    The Blueprint Lab

    Your team and ours, working the blueprint together.

    You leave withThe structure, drawn

    Read more
    1. 01The ledger tested against your ministries’ own data.
    2. 02Each of the seven standards costed in local prices.
    3. 03One financing structure, drawn with your team.
    4. 04A term sheet and the partners to approach.
    Plan a Blueprint Lab

  3. Mandate 03End to end

    The Sovereign Mandate

    Led personally by the President and CEO.

    You leave withA structure ready for market

    Read more
    1. 01A full sovereign asset ledger, valued and verified.
    2. 02Perfect Capita set and agreed with government, with a monitoring plan.
    3. 03The full structure: legal form, credit enhancement, guarantees and pricing.
    4. 04Taken to investors and development partners, through to close.
    Discuss a Sovereign Mandate

Co-design it with us

Where Santomeans and Co-designers design the nation they want to live in.

  • Writings

    Write Perfect São Tomé and Príncipe into being.

    Up to 1,500 words on your vision of Perfect São Tomé and Príncipe, published with your name.

    Submit your writing

  • Voices of Perfect Nations Launching soon

    The local leaders already building Perfect São Tomé and Príncipe.

    Great local leaders: honest, dedicated and committed to basic standards of living for all. Every guest answers one question: “What does São Tomé and Príncipe already own, and how could it pay for a decent life for every citizen?”

    Nominate yourselfSuggest a guest

  • Co-designers

    Join the community.

    Everyone who shares a vision, a voice or an enterprise here becomes a Co-designer of Perfect São Tomé and Príncipe.

    Become a Co-designer

The São Tomé and Príncipe ReDesign Studio is open

Design Perfect São Tomé and Príncipe with us.

Share your vision, suggest a guest, or write to us: every message receives a personal reply.

Enter the ReDesign StudioWrite to usAll 195 nations
Sources
  1. World Bank, World Development Indicators (API), accessed 10 November 2026: population and ages 0 to 14, 2025; land area and agricultural and forest land; renewable fresh water per person, 2022; natural resource, oil, gas and mineral rents, 2021; renewable electricity output, 2021; tourism receipts; personal remittances; electricity access and clean cooking.
  2. The seven standards: FAO food insecurity, WHO/UNICEF JMP water and sanitation, UN-Habitat urban slums, World Bank clean cooking, learning poverty and lower-secondary completion, and poverty headcounts (all via the World Bank); WHO UHC service coverage index, 2023.
  3. IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026 (DataMapper, accessed 10 November 2026): general government gross debt, 2025, and real GDP growth projected for 2026.
  4. World Bank projects P177099, P180982 and P174275; World Bank press release of 31 July 2024.
  5. IMF Country Report on the 2025 Article IV and first ECF review (August 2025).
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