Why diaspora will fail

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By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Cybersecurity Mobile Policy Privacy Scooters. Phones Laptops Headphones Cameras. Tablets Smartwatches Speakers Drones. And in some countries, even the ones that have respectable economies, the contribution of remittances to GDP is growing. During the period from to , it grew from 0. Even in countries such as Somalia, where a quarter of GDP comes from remittances, this barely figures in any reports. But while diasporas may be resources, it is problematic to look at them as just that — resources — and nothing more.

Why do we boil down their worth to the few hundred dollars they send to their families every month? They are and they can be so much more, especially when diasporas have achieved great things for the human race.

Coming from Ethiopia, I can speak of so many Ethiopians who have influenced the world beyond their adopted or original borders. I can speak of Professor Tilahun Yilma of the University of California, who developed a genetically-engineered vaccine for the fatal cattle disease rinderpest, and who invented the inexpensive rapid testing kit for the same disease. I can go on and on, and I am sure each African national can name similarly dazzling diasporas originating from their respective countries.

To me, the diaspora might just be the card Africa has hidden under her sleeve for far too long. Are developing countries under-utilising a wealth of diaspora resources?

Can more be done with diaspora capital, expertise and connections? As a contributor to the Commonwealth Secretariat's recent survey of expatriates in London, I drew on its insights. As a former investment banker with a remit across global emerging markets, I recalled the relative differences in approach by different countries.

As an engaged member of the Bangladeshi diaspora, I was also able to speak from personal experience. There are at least two reasons why developing countries can no longer rely on a linear path of economic catch-up. Rapid advances in technology are revolutionising how we organise economic activity and produce output.

This is particularly disruptive for those who compete mainly on the basis of inexpensive labour. At the same time, a new backdrop of protectionism and "trade war" means that foreign markets and foreign capital will be harder to tap. What is required is a strategy of experimentation, innovation and leapfrogging. Diaspora can help on both fronts. Harnessed correctly, their inherent bias towards their homeland can act as amplifying nodes in powerful cross-border networks.

They can lend not only their expertise but also their professional reputations—two important factors in platform economies. Harnessed correctly, their savings and investments can also act as foot-soldiers in the flow of capital to developing countries, crowding in investment from other sources. Potential foreign investors often ask, "How much is your diaspora invested in this?

It is important to distinguish between involuntary and voluntary involvement of the diaspora. For many years, countries such as the Philippines and Bangladesh have enjoyed a large and growing flow of remittances from overseas workers.

World Bank , Bilateral Remittances Matrix Resource Trade. Mangala ed. Toma, S. Official election results seem to support his thesis: in the first round, incumbent Abdoulaye Wade was in the lead in Senegal but came second in France and third in the United States. In the second round, he lost by an even greater margin abroad. Vari-Lavoisier, I The economic side of social remittances: how money and ideas circulate between Paris, Dakar, and New York Comparative Migration Studies Page 25 — Afrique contemporaine , , 4 , Previous item.

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