Unleashing Africa’s Secret Weapon: How the Diaspora Can Ignite the World’s Next Economic Miracle.

Walk the streets of Houston, London or Toronto, and you’ll meet doctors, engineers, teachers and entrepreneurs from  Ghana or Nigeria. Numbering 3 million strong Ghanaians and over 15 million Nigerian diaspora communities worldwide yet profoundly tied to their homeland. Ghana, Nigeria and the sub-Saharan region should follow China and India’s footsteps by incentivizing their vast diaspora networks to invest capital, talent, and tech as all those economies look to accelerate growth.

Equipped with this overview, we can now dive into it. After opening its doors post-WWII, China lifted a jaw-dropping 800 million people out of poverty. India gave birth to a massive $3 trillion IT industry that became the world’s envy. These economic miracles didn’t happen by chance.

As leading decolonized nations gifted with youthful populations, the time is ripe for Ghana and Nigeria to harness their prodigal sons and daughters. This is to catalyze development through strategic diaspora outreach.

The Chinese and Indian Models
With the background established, we can look into these models. China’s engagement with the diaspora helped ignite its economic miracle. Overseas  Chinese invested over $100 billion during the 1990s, drawn by preferential policies and historic ties. They brought vital capital, international networks and technical know-how. An estimated 50-70% of China’s FDI came from the diaspora during the opening period. 

Many migrants initially left as ordinary folk but transitioned to skilled professionals, driving tech, healthcare and engineering development.

As a boy in Kanpur, Naveen Tewari would gaze up at planes flying overhead and dream of a high-flying future. After earning an MBA from Harvard, he turned entrepreneur and founded an advertising startup called InMobi. Today, Naveen strides through the sleek offices of his company in Chennai, now valued at over $1 billion and competing with tech titans like Google.

India has channeled events like the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to celebrate the Indian diaspora. In contrast, China has invited youth on high-profile visits to inspire attachment. The results speak for themselves.

Ghana and Nigeria’s Potential

Large, youthful diasporas in Ghana, Nigeria and the sub-Saharan region are hungry to engage if given the right opportunities. They recognize Africa’s growth potential. In a remote Nigerian village, a group of cocoa farmers gathers to meet Okechukwu, a Nigerian agronomist who spent decades working at Nestle. He introduces low-cost technologies to improve their irrigation and soil quality, doubling yields within a season. Meanwhile, in Accra, Delali fine-tunes an app she built that lets voters verify their identity biometrically, reducing fraud in upcoming Ghanaian elections.

Patrick Awuah was a Microsoft engineer who graduated from Swarthmore College and UC Berkeley. In 2002, he returned to Ghana and founded Ashesi University, a liberal arts and sciences institution that aims to educate ethical, entrepreneurial leaders for Africa.

Students studying in pristine, modern buildings equipped with cutting-edge technology. Awuah’s innovative curriculum, which emphasizes critical thinking, problem-solving, ethics, and leadership, has made Ashesi Ghana’s top undergraduate institution. Cementing his reputation as one of the country’s most influential educators., with a net worth of over $10 million.

In national progress, Accra, Abuja, and the sub-Saharan region must demonstrate that the diaspora is a valued partner, not outsiders.

Cultural Clashes: Bridging Worlds Bridging divides requires nuance, but progress remains possible through significant diaspora engagement that requires careful consideration. Returnees often bring Westernized customs and values that seem foreign back home. Sometimes, it results in tensions that can impede integration. Thus, cultural sensitivity and dialogue are mandatory to ensure smooth, mutually beneficial reintegration.

Maximizing the Mutual Benefit
As a result, the Chinese and Indian examples MAY reveal strains. Locals may resent diaspora members as brash carpetbaggers, airdropping to reshape the homeland in their own Westernized image. Or they may dismiss them as elitist outsiders, tainted by distance and romanticism. Some diasporas may harbour prejudices about corruption or lack of professionalism back home.

Fortunately, Ghana and Nigeria can adapt lessons from the East to maximize diaspora contributions while minimizing disconnect risks.

Tiger’s Roar

Let’s outline three key strategies to maximize Ghana, Nigeria and the sub-Saharan region’s diaspora potential: a welcoming approach with incentives, an increased Diaspora Investment Fund, and the development of diaspora talent recruitment program transfer through online platforms and cultural initiatives.

Red Carpet Welcome
Firstly, Ghana, Nigeria and the sub-Saharan region must woo the diaspora with better incentives and benefits.

Ghana and Nigeria should expand attractive repatriation packages. China offers resettlement compensation, while India provides return airfare support. Other incentives include priority processing for visas/residency, fee waivers, land grants and exemptions from selected import duties.

Diaspora Investment Fund
Secondly, Ghana, Nigeria, and the sub-Saharan region must establish a diaspora investment fund: African countries like Nigeria have already issued diaspora bonds to raise funds from their citizens living abroad. Nigeria raised nearly $300 million in its first-ever diaspora bond in 2017. Establishing a diaspora investment fund managed by the diaspora community could be a more effective way to mobilize investment capital.

This fund could finance infrastructure projects, small and medium-sized enterprises, and other development initiatives in Ghana and Nigeria.

Develop a diaspora talent recruitment program.
Many members of the African diaspora have advanced degrees and professional experience that could be leveraged to fill critical skills gaps in the subregion. A diaspora talent recruitment program could be established to identify and recruit highly skilled diaspora members to work in critical sectors such as healthcare, education, and technology.

This program could also provide incentives such as tax breaks and housing subsidies to encourage diaspora members to return home.

A Chink in the Armour

Amid these excellent areas of concern that should be critically analyzed:

1. Offering incentives to diaspora members exacerbates troubling brain drain issues already draining developing nations of limited high-skilled talent that is desperately needed at home.
2. Some argue that the notion all diasporans have ample resources to contribute is misguided. While some achievers garner headlines, many diaspora members battle daily hardship, lacking the means to give back.
3. Granting political privileges like holding certain public offices. For example, Ghana prohibits dual citizens from being parliamentarians or state ministers. It fosters deep resentment among local citizens who argue it hands unreasonable influence to those living abroad long-term who are out of touch with current national issues.
4. A rapid influx of diaspora investment in real estate and businesses can price locals out of their communities, fueling anger about gentrification and widening inequality.

Strategic Policymaking

To optimize results, policymakers should carefully study Chinese and Indian strategies for adaptable lessons. Governments must also balance diaspora affinity with strategic interests. Ultimately, the diaspora is a means to an end – national development. Nostalgia alone cannot drive policy.

With strategic planning, the diaspora can fast-track Africa’s rise. But concerted efforts are needed to shift from brain drain to gain. With the right incentives and integration, Africa can replicate the diaspora advantage that continues to fuel the rise of Asia’s giants.

What do you think?

1. Do you think Ghana and Nigeria have done enough to engage their vast diaspora populations so far? What more could the governments do to attract investment and skills from overseas nationals?

2. What unique advantages can diaspora members bring to their home countries compared to foreign investors? How can the cultural and emotional ties be leveraged?

3. The article mentions possible tensions or clashes between locals and returning diaspora members. How can these cultural gaps be bridged for smooth reintegration?

4. Should diaspora members be granted special privileges like voting rights, parliamentary seats, etc.? Does this create an unfair advantage over local residents?

5. Beyond economics, how can diaspora populations help reshape the image and influence of their home countries on the global stage? Does the diaspora have a role in building soft power?