Stephanie Asare

Building on the findings of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s (MIF) 2019 Ibrahim Forum Report on African migrations, this joint research paper, co-authored with the African Foundation for Development (AFFORD) and Welcoming Diasporas, complements the migration discussion with that on the African diaspora. While 2019 was declared by Ghana as the ‘Year of Return’ of African diaspora, the economy of many countries on the continent is and has been heavily reliant on diaspora contributions from all over the world – remittances and beyond. The paper intends to shed light on the challenges of measuring the diaspora, and on the composition of African diaspora, while assessing its contribution to the development of the continent and its impact on destination countries. The paper then reviews current initiatives supporting the diaspora and aiming at retaining Africa’s human capital on the continent, including the recent Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).