Santo Antonio (Sao Tome and Principe) (AFP) – A volcanic land, covered with forests, littered with mountain peaks and bordered by turquoise waters: on the little-known island of Principe, a multimillionaire entrepreneur pays a “dividend” to the local population, on condition of preserving the exceptional biodiversity of the island, on which his commercial success depends.

Published on: 02/10/2026 - 08:52

“I have just received the first installment of the payment: 900 dobras (around 36 euros), it is clearly not a salary, but it will do the trick,” exclaims laughing Ermelindo Mendes, a young 23-year-old technician in his village of Monte Alegre, on the green heights of the island in the Gulf of Guinea.

The initiative was set up by South African tech entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth, who for more than 10 years has been developing an ecotourism model reserved for ultra-wealthy clients, making this inaccessible island off the coast of central Africa a popular but confidential luxury tourism destination.

The program of "dividends" paid individually to residents encourages them to preserve their natural environment, although some criticize the initiative, which they see as a missed opportunity to collaborate with the authorities to resolve the economic and social problems of the island.

“Guardians of nature”

On the second island of the Sao Tome and Principe archipelago, the entire territory of which is classified as a biosphere reserve by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the hotelier promises his visitors the discovery of a “hidden West African paradise”.

A night in one of its four hotels can cost up to 1,500 euros and the luxury experience offered to its clients, mostly Europeans, is inseparable from a preserved environment.

And to ensure the rallying of the island's 10,000 inhabitants, Mark Shuttleworth has been paying the "natural dividend" through the Faya Foundation, his philanthropic organization, since February 2026.

The island's inhabitants are "the first guardians of nature, we need them with us", argues Vik Michau, sociologist at the Faya foundation.

In exchange for their adherence to a charter prohibiting predatory activities on the environment – ​​such as sand extraction or unregulated logging – each adult resident can receive up to 6,250 dobras (250 euros) per quarter, in a country where 45% of the population lives on less than 3.15 euros per day, according to the latest data from the World Bank in 2017.

For the moment, no one has yet managed to obtain this maximum amount, because "data monitoring shows that the state of nature is not yet optimal", explains Vik Michau, who assures that residents will be able to earn more money if they reforest the island or engage in "better choices with respect to nature".

Every year, 15,000 tourists visit the small island of 140 km2, according to the tourist office, the vast majority of whom take advantage of the luxury ecotourism offer from HBD ("Here Be Dragons"), the group of the rich South African.

"Suffering"

“Most visitors are looking for nature, tranquility, peace, what the region has to offer,” emphasizes Wander Dias de Sousa Pires, director of the Principe tourist office.

But for the inhabitants of the autonomous region of this country, one of the poorest in the world, the postcard setting masks a daily life faced with structural difficulties.

"Those who come look at the landscape and say to themselves 'This is paradise'. But those who live there see the suffering," breathes Conceicao Moreno, 46, a deputy in the National Assembly. “We have completely degrading social and economic conditions: the cost of living is very high, we have no access to quality care and education, the roads and most infrastructure are degraded,” he says.

He refused to participate in the "natural dividend" program proposed by the Faya foundation, wary of the "domination relationship" that this donation could induce and convinced that "the project should have partnered with the government so that there would be social progress and work that would ensure the development of the island."

“The sums paid have no impact on ensuring the survival of a family, it is insignificant,” he believes.

But the dividend should not be seen “like a salary” and the charitable actions of the foundation will not replace the State, insists Vik Michau. "We are a private organization, not the government. We have demarcated very clearly the line between what is the government's responsibility, what we do here, and what we can help with."

And this “pioneering” experiment is “designed to be replicated on a global scale,” the multimillionaire’s foundation boasts on its website.

© 2026 AFP

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