When Adrienne S. O’Neal first came on board as the U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Cape Verde she had not only an official mission but her own ambitions.

Now coming into her second year on the job, O’Neal has fine-tuned her goals of making more people in the U.S. aware not only that Cape Verde is a Portuguese-speaking island nation about 300 miles off the west coast of Africa near Senegal but also of the investment opportunities there for U.S. businesses.

O’Neal is a longtime diplomat having done stints Brazil, Italy, Argentina, and Mozambique. She is a graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta and Middlebury College in Vermont.  Nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as ambassador, she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in October 2011. Born in Durham, N.C. and reared in New Orleans and Michigan, she has now settled into the Cape Verdean way of life.

Cape Verde is an archipelago of 10 islands, nine of them inhabited. They cover a combined area of just over 1,500 square miles. They were colonized by the Portuguese, who brought in African slaves from other parts of the continent to Cape Verde. Due to the long colonization, most of the people of Cape Verde are of mixed-race heritage. Cape Verde played a vital role in the Atlantic slave trade because of its location. It won its independence on July 5, 1975. Today it is a democracy, governed as a parliamentary republic.

Q: How do you want to increase U.S. investment in Cape Verde?

A: This is difficult for various reasons. For one, Cape Verde is a relatively small market and major American corporations don’t yet see the benefits. Also, the country has longstanding and strong ties with the European business community. But we here at the Embassy are working hard to find niche markets that we can interest the American small business community in. One of them is renewable energy, which is already at 20 percent here in Cape Verde.

Q:  Why is it important for U.S. businesses to invest in Cape Verde?

A: There are historical ties between America and Cape Verde. Also, I recently was informed that there are twice more Cape Verdeans in the U.S. than there are in Cape Verde. There is a strong Cape Verdean community in the U.S., and you have many families now in their third generation in America. They are Americans. We want to find a way to create a bridge for Cape Verdeans in the diaspora and those in Cape Verde.

But we still have a long way to go. It can be difficult to forge co-operation between the Cape Verde business community and America because Cape Verde has long dealt with the European business community. European investments have strong ties in Cape Verde, especially in the tourism sector.

America is also evolving its economic relationship with Cape Verde from being a donor country to more of an investor…The Cape Verde business model (will) change…because Cape Verde is moving into a mid-economy country. We would like to see them use the American business model, where Cape Verdean entrepreneurs – regular citizens – will have more input into the economy.

We have also begun to work with women entrepreneurs and addressed and aided them in some of their goals.

 Q: What are some of your other goals while here in Cape Verde?

A: The embassy’s established mission is to support democracy and a democratic way of life. We also are working to strengthen ties with the Cape Verdean community. We would like to introduce more of the American culture to Cape Verde to facilitate a better understand of America. America and Cape Verde have a unique relationship because of the large number of Cape Verdean Americans. We want to have a better cultural exchange. We have also developed a stronger relationship between our law enforcement and theirs. Our law enforcement has come here to help instruct. Cape Verde is also looking at our judicial system and the way the American legal system works. We are also proud that we have been more successful in introducing the English language here in school. This is important because the better we can communicate the more likely business avenues will open on both sides.

As far as some of my goals, I would like to see the American culture gain more exposure here in Cape Verde — music, the arts. We have been lucky with our partnership with Bridgewater State University. It is our own only civilian partner. They have been very instrumental on the education side as well as helping forge cultural exchanges. We have been able to bring some Cape Verdean American artists here to Cape Verde for exhibitions and performances.

We have developed a cultural portfolio, something that wasn’t here prior. We have hired a social media manager who has increased our presence on social media networks, which have become very popular. Even people in Washington are impressed with what we have done with our social media, such as our Facebook page. It has allowed us to engage more with the Cape Verdean people.

Q: Do you find Americans just don’t know where Cape Verde is?

A: It is funny you ask because I recently went back to the U.S. for a family function  and that was the main question — “Where is Cape Verde?” Luckily, my son pulled (out) a map of Cape Verde on his iPad.

We want more Americans to become aware of Cape Verde, not just its location, but the culture, the history of our relationship with Cape Verde. It goes back to the 18th century, when the first wave of immigrants came from Brava (the smallest and southernmost of the Cape Verde islands) because of the whaling industry. We set up our first U.S. consulate in Sub-Saharan Africa in Cape Verde on Brava in 1818.

Q: Why is Cape Verde important to America?

A:  One because of the large population of Cape Verdeans in America. Also, Cape Verde is in a strategic location. Unfortunately, its location makes it venerable to the transatlantic narcotics trade, but our law enforcement has been working with law enforcement in Cape Verde to secure the waterways. And this is growing more important as piracy is shifting from East Africa to over this way.