 Group has said lauded the efforts of Africans in the diaspora, saying remittances from them exceeded $124 billion in 2025.){kind=link}
The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has said lauded the efforts of Africans in the diaspora, saying remittances from them exceeded $124 billion in 2025.
The AfDB said the diaspora community is one of the greatest strengths of the African continent, adding that through its talents, expertise, investments and networks, it contributes every day to raising Africa’s profile across the world.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony of the Bank’s new diaspora partnership initiative, the AfDB Group President Dr Sidi Ould Tah said the initiative aimed at forging a new partnership dynamic to mobilise the skills, capital, networks and investment capacity of Africa’s diaspora in support of the continent’s development.
The event, which was held in Paris, with the theme, “Mobilising diaspora capital for Africa’s prosperity and transformation,” brought together more than 200 entrepreneurs, private investors, representatives of diaspora organisations and networks based in Europe, as well as representatives of public and financial institutions.
The diaspora, according to Ould Tah, is not a beneficiary but a strategic partner working towards the continent’s prosperity. He added that the Bank Group is paving the way for the development of strategic partnerships with the diaspora that are structured to deliver concrete results for the continent.
He further explained that it is an ambition enshrined in the Bank’s strategic priorities, adding that it forms part of its Four Cardinal Points strategy and the New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD) initiative, which aims to strengthen Africa’s capacity to mobilise and channel its own resources to finance its development.
In addition, the initiative aims to enable productive investment to promote African skills and expertise worldwide, to strengthen economic and institutional networks, and to foster new forms of cooperation with diaspora stakeholders.
While speaking via video link on behalf of the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, the Head of the AU Directorate for Citizens and the Diaspora, Mr. Amr Aljowaily noted that in a global context marked by a sharp reduction in official development assistance, the new initiative is timely.
UNESCO’s Deputy Director-General Ms Åsa Regnér observed that the shared ambition to recognise diaspora communities as full partners in building Africa’s future, and to transform their contributions into concrete opportunities for the continent.
Opportunities for investment
Benin’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ms Corinne Amori Brunet, called on the diaspora to “invest in private equity or bond projects offering attractive returns… in order to contribute to the development of infrastructure, health and education projects in Africa.”
This call was echoed by Elisabeth Moreno, head of the Ring Africa investment fund, which focuses on West African start-ups, who emphasised the possibility of reconciling financial profitability with impact investing, whilst also inviting diaspora investors to seize the opportunities offered by the continent.
On her part, the Executive Chair and founder of Janngo Capital, Fatoumata Ba presented proven examples of “Diaspora Bonds” and called for increased investment in African technology companies as drivers of growth that raised USD 4 billion in 2025.
Managing Director of Africa50’s flagship investment fund, Djalal Khimdjee said Africa will account for a quarter of the world’s population by 2050 and 40 per cent by 2100, with phenomenal growth potential, including, for example, 30 per cent of the world’s mineral resources.
During a high-level dialogue, filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako called for greater weight to be given to culture, intangible capital and the creative industries in strategies for Africa’s transformation.
Vanessa Moungar, Group Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility & Inclusion at LVMH, and Pierre de Gaëtan Njikam, Director General of the Pierre Castel Fund welcomed the Bank Group’s initiative, while also emphasising that it should form part of an inclusive process, open to all sections of the African diaspora.
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