You Should Know: 5 Ways in which Diaspora Africans are driving Africa’s Growth and Development (PART I)

In today’s post, I have decided to celebrate my African Diasporeans in the Middle and all we do by highlighting some of the often ignored contributions that we make to our home continent. I am sure that there are days when many of us may not think of ourselves as individuals who are impacting the society at large. I hope that reading this post will change that notion in no small measure.

So who is a Diaspora African? I have chosen to adopt the African Union’s has a definition which states that,

“The African Diaspora consists of peoples of African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality and who are willing to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the African Union.” (http://www.audafamericas.org/).

I like this definition because it is broad and leaves very little room for confusion. We can be certain that it encompasses everyone from Taxi-drivers and Home Health Aides all the way to Physicians, Business Executives and other six-figure diasporeans. At first sight, it might seem as though these various groups would have nothing in common but that is not true. In the grand scheme of things, most African Diasporeans (ADs) share a common goal even as they strive for success in their adopted countries and that is: making life better for those back home and improving the continent as a whole. So let’s break down some of the contributions that ADs make:

Africa Rise Expo video showcasing well-known Diaspora Africans as well as rising stars who are making 

their mark on the continent and in the world at large. (Video courtesy of youtube.com)

1)      You are helping the African Economy and improving lives: with the money you send home. Most of us probably don’t think much about the money that we send home to family and friends. I could tell you stories of people I know and how they make it a point to send a little something home to their loved ones on a regular basis even while working at menial and low-paying jobs in their adopted countries. But I won’t because we all know people like these and very likely, as you read this, you might be one of these and you probably don’t think much of it, to you it might just be a normal part of life. By the time you are finished reading this post, you may begin to think differently about your role as a Diaspora African and the considerable power you wield. Consider this excerpt from Adams B. Bodomo’s blog article, “African Diaspora Remittances are Better than Foreign Aid Funds.” Read the full article here.

“Solome Lemma in her … Blog article … indicates that Africans send home 40 Billion each year, which is far more than the 7.7 Billion that the US sent to Africa as development aid in 2010. Indeed Lemma confirms that between 1960 and 2003 total foreign aid to Africa was only 600 Billion dollars but remittances from Diaspora Africans during that period were double the foreign aid amounts. Already in 2007 according to Lemma, remittance to Africa by Diaspora Africans was 200 Billion US dollars, which is far more than foreign aid to Africa in that year by non-Africans. The latest figures about Diaspora African remittance show that in 2012, despite paying far more remittance fees than most other areas in the world, Africans still sent back home to Africa a whopping 60 Billion dollars. What all this demonstrates is that the more than 30 million Africans outside are remitting far more money to Africa than the development aid funds that are accorded the continent from international donors.” (emphasis mine).

(Adams B. Bodomo, www.modernghana.com)

You may be amazed to find that taken as a group, Diaspora Africans are sending home far more than the total amount of money being given to African countries in the form of grants and aid. Bodomo’s article also goes on to argue the fact that this money is also far more important in leading to direct improvements in the health, happiness and well-being of people back home than is the foreign aid which often finds its way into the hands of irresponsible politicians and looters. Remittances from foreign-based Africans also has the added benefit of not being contingent upon conditions like foreign aid often is, instead, they are gifts of love, freely given to improve the lives of loved ones. This in turn helps the economy by giving people more spending power as well as the ability to set up businesses thereby creating jobs.

2)      You are fostering innovation and development on the African Continent: by making use of the information and insight you have gained from living in a different country and seeing things from a different perspective. A lot of initiatives are being launched on the continent of Africa by diasporeans who have chosen to make a difference either by returning home or by setting up and managing projects remotely. The forms of these contributions are as varied as the diasporeans themselves because we all have different areas of interests and unique talents within each area. There are so many different businesses and organizations being run by ADs and which are driving innovation on the continent but for the sake of time, only a few are highlighted below:

Ruff n Tumble founder, Adenike Ogunlesi discusses her company and doing business in Nigeria.

(Video courtesy of youtube.com)

·         Villages in Action – One of the initiatives of Project Diaspora which is the brainchild of Teddy Ruge, an technology enthusiast and entrepreneur who has launched many start-ups both in the United States and in his native country of Uganda. Villages in Action creates opportunities for people and especially youth who live in rural areas of Africa to showcase their talents in technology and many other areas. The main idea is that their voices are heard and that this is done without the help of international aid organizations.

·         Africans in the Diaspora – AiD began as the brainchild of two women: Solome Lemma (whose blog article, “Redefining Remittances” is referenced in the first part of this post above) and Zanele Sibanda. AiD was also profiled in a previous Diaspora à Vie post.

 ·         FACE Africa – Initially began as Fund A Child’s Education by Saran Kaba Jones after she returned to her home country of Liberia. On finding out how much children were being impacted by the lack of access to clean water, the building of wells has now become the main focus of this Non-profit. Local labor, materials and resources are used in all well-constructions.

·         Ruff 'n' Tumble – A children’s clothing line founded by Adenike Ogunlesi after she returned to Nigeria. The company began with her wanting to make pajamas for her own children and has now grown into a premier fashion brand which uses local fabrics, labor and ingenuity thereby providing jobs to tailors and other artisans. The company now has nine locations in Nigeria with plans to add four more in the first quarter of 2014. 

Stay tuned for Part II of this article.

XOXO,

Starlight.