Diaspora, it’s time for Africa is not a cliché!

By Catherine Kyule, Marketing and Communication Manager at Bantaba and editorial volunteer at Ambitious.Africa.

About two weeks ago, I watched our CEO pitch in front of 10 top Swedish investors. He was telling them the same story he told me when he first sold me his dream two months ago in our weekly meetings at the Ambitious.Africa Sweden chapter.

I’m not sure whether it was watching him, stand in front of the cameras, and answer every question convincingly or the fact that we had made it to the final top ten start-ups out of the 254 that had applied. Whatever it was got me thinking for a week.

First, that there are very many opportunities out here for the African diaspora youth to take advantage of and contribute towards the economic growth of the African continent.

For a long time remittances and tourism have been the areas where diaspora have proven to have a critical impact in Africa. These are the most recognizable ways in which the diaspora relates to Africa. They are not comparable to the experience of day-to-day living in Africa, but as a member of the diaspora that once relocated from my ancestral homeland of Kenya four years ago; I know there are additional ways Africans abroad are making an impact in Africa.

Investment

A recent article on Tech Crunch revealed that Africa has dozens of thriving start-up ecosystems that are persevering through the pandemic. Now more than ever, they need a boost. The World Bank estimated that economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa alone would decline from 2.4% in 2019 to -2.1 to -5.1% in 2020. If correct, the region would experience its first recession in a quarter of a century. Let’s just hope that it doesn’t get there and we can stop that by using some of the diaspora savings to cushion the losses.

Many youths, having spent their time acquiring knowledge and experience abroad, feel the urge to contribute back home but just don’t know-how. Well, obviously for selfish reasons I recommend going through platforms like Bantaba where one can contribute through investment. But money isn’t the only way one can invest. Understandably, some of the diaspora youth are trying to make ends meet while studying and if this applies to you, have you ever considered exchanging your talent for some equity in a start-up? Yeah, times are tough and start-ups are struggling with manpower mostly because they can’t afford them!  

I highly recommend checking out some of the incentives governments are offering investors and entrepreneurs. This might be the best time to invest!

Tell our story!

If you are reading this article and have never heard of organizations like Ambitious.Africa, building bridges with foreigners may sound like a hectic activity.  

Making friends abroad is already difficult, how is one supposed to go about this?

It’s possible by celebrating our rich cultural heritage, diversity, and histories. Relationships are forged with foreigners, including those unable to visit the continent themselves through photos and stories shared on these platforms and myths are dispelled. Messages are conveyed and stereotypes are broken. Diaspora plays a huge role in unwriting some of the wrong misrepresentations by the media and people with selfish interests while telling the African story. It’s funny because last week also happens to be Africa Communications week and some of the questions posed is how Africans in communication-related careers can help change the narrative. I believe this is every diasporan’s responsibility!

The African Union already declared the African diaspora as the Sixth Region of the AU after the East, West, North, Central Region, and South. The diaspora was also once called the continent’s “secret weapon” by CNN. It is time to acknowledge our importance towards the economic empowerment of our continent and be intentional about it!