As of today, remittances and resources sent from the diaspora to their country of origin represent three times in volume the amount of official development assistance (ODA) globally. If some of this financial flow could be channelled towards productive investments, it could drastically change the face of the continent. The contribution of diaspora members to the development of their countries of origin goes far beyond financial resources. Indeed, it also includes the transfer of skills and knowledge, entrepreneurial endeavours, trade, investments, network building, bridging cultural divides and breaking down gender stereotypes. In addition, social investments and remittances have proven to create a positive development impact. The diaspora has linguistic and cultural links to their native country at their disposal, which empowers them to become agents of change, directly allowing them to create businesses which immediately contribute to the development of their communities in both countries where they live as entrepreneurs from the diaspora but also locally in the country where they develop their business.
In this regard, the Diaspora represents a cornerstone in the new developmental paradigm as, if surrounded by an enabling environment, they then share their human, social, economic, and cultural capital by bridging their countries of residence and origin. Their transnational situation positions them as real catalysts for philanthropy, investments, knowledge sharing and innovation in their countries of origin. This is even truer today due to the technological advancement and increased connectivity digitalization supposes which has been clearly highlighted by the COVID-19 crisis. In this regard, the global economy and the economies of many African countries have highly suffered from the past years context and the results of this global pandemic are yet to be seen. Acknowledging the current context, it is of outmost importance to channel all capable and relevant actors to support job creation & retention, access to finance, bridge light tech-based and state of the art solutions to local demand to
enhance market access and global competitiveness, and foster knowledge and capital exchange.