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The diaspora dividend: Africa’s untapped asset
Across continents and generations, Africa’s diaspora, estimated at over 160 million people, represents one of the continent’s greatest yet underutilised strategic assets. It includes professionals, entrepreneurs, academics, creatives, investors, and change-makers with deep roots in Africa and global perspectives shaped by experience in the world’s most advanced economies.
As the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) gains traction, there is a golden opportunity to intentionally harness the diaspora’s power to catalyse intra-African trade, deepen regional integration, and accelerate the continent’s economic transformation.
The AfCFTA, which seeks to create the largest free trade area in the world by number of countries, presents an extraordinary platform to move Africa from fragmentation to unity, from export dependency to domestic value creation, and from economic isolation to shared prosperity. The diaspora must now be strategically positioned as a bridge between Africa and the rest of the world and among African nations.
AfCFTA: The game-changer for African Trade
The AfCFTA aims to connect 55 countries into a market of over 1.4 billion people with a combined GDP exceeding $3.4 trillion. By eliminating up to 90 percent of tariffs, reducing trade barriers, and harmonising regulations, AfCFTA is expected to increase intra-African trade by more than 50 percent in the next decade.
However, trade does not thrive on policies alone. It requires ecosystems of trust, innovation, logistics, capital, and relationships. This is where the diaspora can play a catalytic role—as investors, connectors, consumers, and advocates.
Why the diaspora matters for intra-African trade
1. Capital mobilisation and investment networks
The diaspora remits over $95 billion annually to African countries—exceeding official development assistance and foreign direct investment in many nations. If even a fraction of these remittances is channeled into structured investment vehicles, such as diaspora bonds, trade finance platforms, or regional venture funds, it could unlock billions for cross-border infrastructure, logistics, SME financing, and industrial parks supporting intra-African trade.
2. Market access and trade facilitation
Diasporans often maintain strong networks across African countries due to intermarriages, business interests, or professional ties. These networks can break down cultural and linguistic barriers that hinder trade among African nations. Diaspora entrepreneurs can serve as ambassadors for regional trade, identifying agriculture, manufacturing, fintech, and retail opportunities across multiple African markets.
“By eliminating up to 90 percent of tariffs, reducing trade barriers, and harmonising regulations, AfCFTA is expected to increase intra-African trade by more than 50 percent in the next decade.”
3. Knowledge and skills transfer
Many diaspora professionals possess world-class expertise in logistics, supply chain management, e-commerce, regulatory affairs, and digital technology: skills essential for operationalising AfCFTA. Their involvement can elevate African businesses’ competitiveness in cross-border trade, especially SMEs.
4. Branding and consumer demand
Diasporans influence African consumption patterns by introducing goods, technologies, and brands from other African countries. A Ghanaian entrepreneur in South Africa selling Kenyan tea, or a Nigerian in the UK creating demand for Ethiopian coffee, contributes to the AfCFTA ecosystem through pan-African consumerism.
How to harness the diaspora for AfCFTA success
To fully unlock the power of the diaspora for intra-African trade, several strategic steps must be taken:
1. Create Pan-African diaspora investment platforms
Governments, Afreximbank, and regional blocs like ECOWAS and EAC should develop secure, easy-to-access platforms for diaspora investment in cross-border trade and infrastructure projects. These could include co-investment schemes, pooled trade funds, and regional sovereign diaspora bonds.
2. Establish a continental diaspora trade council
A formal advisory body comprising diaspora trade experts, business leaders, and entrepreneurs can help align AfCFTA implementation with diaspora capabilities and insights. This council can advise on trade policy, regional trade fairs, and investment climate improvements.
3. Build regional trade hubs and incubators
Diaspora entrepreneurs need access to physical and digital trade hubs across African cities—spaces that support innovation, incubation, logistics, and access to regional markets. These hubs can serve as gateways for pan-African startups and SMEs to scale operations under AfCFTA.
4. Promote cross-border digital platforms
Digital commerce must be at the heart of AfCFTA. Diaspora-backed platforms that enable B2B trade, e-payments, customs clearing, and freight services across African countries will fast-track trade flows and transparency.
5. Leverage African Union and national policies
Governments must include the diaspora in national AfCFTA strategies. Dual citizenship, diaspora voting rights, tax incentives for diaspora investors, and simplified business registration procedures across borders will increase engagement.
Real-world examples of diaspora-led trade innovation
• Flutterwave, co-founded by diaspora Nigerians, has built a cross-border payments platform that simplifies trade transactions across over 30 African countries.
• The African Diaspora Network in the United States has launched initiatives to connect diaspora investors to African agribusiness and manufacturing ventures.
• Tastemakers Africa, a travel and lifestyle brand led by a diaspora Ghanaian, curates pan-African tourism and trade experiences, connecting creatives and consumers across the continent.
These examples reveal a compelling truth: when empowered, diasporans build bridges—not borders.
Conclusion: Reimagining Africa through its global citizens
The dream of AfCFTA is not merely to remove tariffs; it is to remove limitations. It is to build a continent that trades with itself, trusts itself, and transforms itself from within. The African diaspora is uniquely positioned to help realise this dream.
By strategically engaging its diaspora as investors, innovators, and connectors, Africa can deepen intra-African trade, accelerate industrialisation, and create a truly borderless economic community grounded in shared identity and purpose.
Let us not see the African diaspora as distant observers. Let us embrace them as co-builders of the Africa We Want.
Prof. Lere Baale, CEO, Business School Netherlands International.
