Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube, [email protected]
THE International Organization for Migration (IOM) in partnership with the African Development Bank (ADB) and African Union Commission (AUC) have set aside US$5.2 million to implement a project to strengthen investment, human capital and philanthropic engagement from the diaspora in eight African countries.
Gambia, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, Togo and Zimbabwe are the countries.
This follows the signing of a protocol agreement in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in December 2023 to support the ”Streamlining Diaspora Engagement to Catalyse Private Investments and Entrepreneurship for Enhanced Resilience” (SDE4R) project.
In statement, the IOM said the project will assist the recipient countries to identify the best methods for effectively mobilising the human and financial capital of the diaspora. This will be either to support socioeconomic development by reviving the domestic private sector or recovery from political or humanitarian crisis by leveraging the expertise and networks of Diaspora groups.
Mr. Lamin Drammeh, African Development Bank Deputy Acting Division Manager, Financial Intermediation and Inclusion Division, said the design of the project benefited from a very close and fruitful collaboration between the bank, IOM and AUC as well as other domestic specialised stakeholders from the beneficiary countries.
“This multi-country intervention will contribute towards strengthening private sector development, which will foster economic growth as well as socioeconomic resilience in the beneficiary countries, while enhancing business development by leveraging diaspora-oriented financing opportunities and tools and entrepreneurship initiatives,” he said.
The project is expected to contribute to reinforcing socioeconomic resilience of vulnerable populations, particularly women, youth, rural dwellers and forcibly displaced populations, through diaspora-related humanitarian, educational, health and other resilience-building support and temporary return of skilled and qualified diaspora members.
AUC Head of Division for Citizens and Diaspora Organization Directorate Ms Angela Naa Afoley said the project seeks to close the gap between the diaspora and local economies, leveraging on the expertise and capital of both, to catalyse transformative change.
She said by streamlining processes, reducing barriers and providing strategic support, the project will unlock new opportunities for investment, spur entrepreneurial ventures, and ultimately enhance the resilience of communities, nations and the continent.
IOM Director of the Special Liaison Office in Addis Ababa Ms Mariama Cisse Mohamed said the project aligned with the mandate to promote socio-economic development through migration while providing humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, including refugees and internally displaced populations.
“As such, IOM will leverage its achievements, tools, and methodologies, and existing partnerships with various entities, including the African Union Commission and the African Development Bank, to catalyse the diaspora’s contribution to private sector development and humanitarian action in the target countries,” she said.
The project is expected to benefit communities in host countries where there will be 10 000 direct and 40 000 indirect beneficiaries in the communities affected by conflict, climate change and other humanitarian and environmental disasters.
The Bank approved the SDE4R project on 4 July 2023, with funding from its Transition Support Facility (TSF). The IOM will implement the project over three years with strategic oversight, guidance and advisory from the AUC. The project speaks to humanitarian-development-peace nexus focused on implementation of strategic frameworks and shared priorities.
There is an estimated 160 million Africans in the diaspora and they remitted nearly US$96 billion to the continent in 2021. This far exceeded the US$35 billion in official development assistance that flowed into Africa in the same year.
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