The Chief Economist and Vice President of Economic Governance and Knowledge Management, at the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, Prof. Kevin Urama says Nigeria ranks fourth among African countries with large numbers of diasporas outside the continent.
Urama disclosed this in Abuja while speaking on “Diaspora Funding for Africa’s Development” at the Global African Diaspora Symposium on Building Stronger Connections between Africa and the Global Diaspora on Thursday.
“Nigeria is one of the countries with large numbers of Diasporas. The Nigerian Diaspora living outside Africa has tripled between 2000 and 2020.
“While Nigeria ranks fourth among African countries with large numbers of Diasporas outside the continent, the extra-continental Nigerian diaspora has tripled in two decades.
“From 320,000 people in 2000 to about one million in 2020; about 58 percent of Nigeria’s diasporas live outside Africa, while 42 percent live in Africa,’’ he said.
Urama said the African Union (AU) estimated that 70,000 skilled professionals emigrate from the continent annually, noting that in 2015, African-trained medical graduates practising in the US reached 13,584.
He said: “The Mo Ibrahim Foundation assessment `Brain Drain: A bane for Africa’s potential’ found that in 2015, 86 percent of all African-educated physicians working in the US were trained in Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa.
“A significantly large number of Africans in the Diaspora are excelling in medicine, robotics, space engineering, nanotechnology, architecture, engineering, public policy, academia IT, and literature.
“Other fields where they excel include the media, sports, entertainment, the public domain of politics, and the private sector in different parts of the world.’’
According to the economist, there has never been a more fitting time than the present for us to unite, work together, and help build a formidable, dynamic, and prosperous continent.
Urama said: “Development is a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) business. Africans should take the proverbial “bull by the horns”; do what is right for Africa. By working together, we can build the Africa we want.
Speaking on diaspora financing in supporting Africa’s development, he said that the African diasporas were invaluable assets for Africa’s development and their countries of residence around the world.
He said all Africans, living in Africa, migrants living outside Africa, and people of African descent living in other continents around the world, constitute “The Global Africa”.
The economist said they also had the inherent desire and responsibility to proactively build Africa we want.
Urama listed key areas African diasporas could finance and support Africa’s development, including securitisation of remittances, diaspora bonds, trade and investment promotion, research, innovation, knowledge, technology transfer, and brain circulation.
Speaking on the key areas, he said diaspora remittances to Africa had increased significantly over the past decade, from $53 billion in 2010 to about $100 billion in 2022.
According to him, the flow of remittances to African countries has remained stable and predictable, making it a formidable source of financing for African development.
“Nigeria is one of the major remittance recipient countries in Africa.
“With an estimated value of $19.5 billion in 2021 and $21 billion in 2022, accounting for almost 20 percent of the continent’s total value of remittances in both years.
“This makes Nigeria the first recipient country in sub-Saharan Africa and the second in Africa, after Egypt, which received $31.5 billion (30 percent of the total remittances) in 2021.
“Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, and Ghana alone accounted for almost 70 percent of the total value of remittances in Africa in 2021.
“These were not debts. There were 100 percent gifts or grants, a new form of concessional financing that is the key for livelihood security for millions of Africans,’’ the economist said.
Urama said the impact of remittance flows on economies was quite significant as they ensured a stable source of income and eased consumption and other immediate livelihood needs for families, especially during crises.
He said they contributed to reducing growth volatilities, as seen in the Philippines, Mexico, Pakistan, India, and others; provided alternative financing investments; helped boost domestic savings and contributed to financial intermediation.
The economist said the role of remittances in promoting investments could be significantly enhanced by securitising them.
According to him, securitisation of remittances can enhance the credit rating of financial assets by mitigating currency convertibility risk, a key component of sovereign risk.
On diaspora bonds, he said their issuance allowed the diaspora to participate in the region’s development, irrespective of the size of investible funds.
He said this gave African countries a useful mechanism to mobilise external funds for investment while lowering investment risk.
On trade promotion, he said the African Diaspora could increase essential market information for trade by helping origin-country exporters find buyers, improve their market knowledge, and comply with government requirements and market standards.
“They can also facilitate bilateral trade and investment between host and origin countries as they can help overcome information asymmetries and other market imperfections.
“They can use language benefits or cultural background to ease communication and better understand business documents, procedures, and regulations.
“They can also directly invest in their countries of origin as this will help to promote business development, job creation, innovation, and business networks.
On research, innovation, knowledge, and technology transfer, the economist said skilled African Diaspora and country networks abroad could contribute to capacity development through diaspora organisations in the host countries.
Urama, while speaking on brain circulation, said returning migrants/diaspora could also bring back new skills, knowledge, technology, connections, norms, and democratic values.
“Skilled migrants can have an important role in the transfer of knowledge and technology.
“From the most developed to the less developed world through formal and informal networks thus encouraging brain circulation, which could promote sustainable development in Africa,’’ he said.
