Transcript Achieving the balance - Welcome to FindaJobinAfrica

Sources of Investments in Africa, Diaspora European Investor Perspective
African Government Policies: Integration of the
Diaspora
Africa Youth Foundation
Dr Banjoko
19th May 2005
The African community in the Diaspora has a major role to play in the
new task of transformation, reconstruction and regeneration. Their
experience, values, knowledge and creativity are very much required
to join with home-based efforts to ensure the overall improvement in
the African condition. Rebuilding Africa is a collective challenge.
H.E President Olusegun Obasanjo – Current Chairperson African Union
The Africans in the Diaspora merit increasing attention they are
a source of investment funding, expertise and a confidence
building measure of great importance. Financial flows from the
Diaspora on average contribute 5-10% of some African
countries Gross Domestic Product and in a few cases over 20%.
The role of AfricaRecruit- facilitating and
enabling Diaspora investment.
Information
Diverse partnership
Mobilise
Network
Links
Enable
Creating the infrastructure
Challenging perception
The African Union, New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and individual
African governments are all exploring ways of harnessing the African Diaspora. Rather
than looking at the negative aspects of capital flight the emphasis is how to capture the
benefits
African Diaspora- One of Africa’s
greatest offshore asset
Remittances
Business
Tourism
Real Estate
Stocks
Social
Nostalgic
products
African countries are becoming more heavily reliant on
the stable foreign direct investment and the increasing
remittances from its indigenous population abroad as
a source of finance. In 2002 formal remittances to
Africa accounted for 15% ($12bn) of the total
remittances to the developing countries ($80bn).
Massive contributions in areas such as
telecommunications (telephone calls); flights; food
products, films and many other services
Obstacles to Diaspora Investments
Main Obstacles to investment
Breakdow n of Responses
60
50
40
Most Important
30
Important
Least Important
20
10
0
Lack of
transparency
No suitable
options
Personal
Obstacles
Poor or lack of
information
Poor or no
infrastructure
Need for Information
The actual figure on remittance is under-quoted as a significant
proportion goes through informal channels and is not reported.
Reasons for this include:
•High commission
•Poor infrastructures in sending and receiving countries
•Wide differences between official and black rate
•Alternatives- bartering, people transfer
•Control in dispensing to local rate by the receiver
To gain a greater understanding of the types of remittances and how
to harness:
•Family
•Personal investment e.g. property(31%), business (38%), capital market (9%)etc
•Community/Social investment (20%)
•Pensions etc
Need for Information
The market depends on word of mouth no direct input by
governments on creating the necessary infrastructures to
bring about an open and transparent market with healthy
competition.
Most policies currently address the large flows by
organisation but fails to enable the many private flows by the
Diaspora who are taking personal investments at their
individual risk into Africa.
The aim would be to inform policy in both the sending and
receiving nations on how best to ensure that “consumption
remittances” is translated into “investment remittances
Need for Information
Benefits to African countries ability to:
•translate some of the current cash transfer (30%) to formal
channels ( increased FDI)
•capture more information, plan and forecasts its FDI
•create policy enhancers, alternatives and incentives to the private
sector
Benefits to senders the ability to:
•make more informed choices
•more conveniently transfer e.g. direct debit
Benefits to recipients the ability to:
•Receive on a regular basis and plan ( direct debit)
•Receive more from the money sent
•Consider investment options
•Enable micro finance and credit capacity
Financial Capital-
increasing number of Africans in the
Diaspora are engaged financially with Africa either at micro-macro
level
Percentage breakdown
Average amount sent home per month US dollars
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
under 300
dollars a month
300-500
600-1000
Amount per month
over 1000
Bridging the Gap
Intensive information
And awareness
campaign - globally
Africans based
locally/regional
Misconceptions
Negative information
Lack/poor information
Access
Africans in the Diaspora
No meeting point
Fear of the Unknown
Local-Regional-Global
Expatriates
FrameworkDiaspora Investment Pathway
AfricaRecruit
Understanding
both Diaspora and
African
perspectives
Understand the
structures and
systems
Links
Shared
Vision
forward
looking
Joint venture
Networks
Shareholders
Dissemination
African Diaspora
Africans in Africa
Stakeholders
Invest
Achieving the balance- turning the tide
African Diaspora
Sabbaticals
Interns
Exchange
Consultants
Voluntary
Temp
Permanent
Remmittances
Diaspora Investment
Micro finance
Stock Market
Real Estate
Communication
Access
Retention
Human
Capital
Communication
Links/Access
Infrastructure
Financial
Capital
“You will never solve the
problem with the mindset
that created it”
Albert Einstein
Thank you
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