Leveraging African Diaspora skills for continued development within Africa

,The African diaspora signifies communities across the world deriving from the historic movement of African people— predominantly to the Americas, Europe and the Middle East.

The African diaspora tells the tale of how Africans, though being dispersed, achieved maintaining their traditions and modifying their identities in a new world. Fundamentals of African culture such as religion, language, and folklore were their reminders of their history. In

the process of Americanization, Africans formed another culture commonly referred to as Afro-Americans or Creoles.

Every year, countless young, educated Africans leave their homeland in order to pursue their dreams and fortune abroad. Sadly, many of these immigrants don’t return home, though their capabilities, knowledge and understanding are priceless commodities contributing to the progress of Africa as a whole. Furthermore, masses of people of African descent situated in societies across the world are actively looking for ways to re-engage with their ancestral homes in Africa.

The World Bank Group is the biggest supplier of development support to Africa, and it has amplified its support to the region intensely over the 5 years. It is therefore no surprise that the World Bank team along with 400 representatives of the African Diaspora collectively acknowledged that these invaluable human resources are critical and MUST be tapped to support Africa in fighting the development challenges. This resulted in the African Diaspora Program; a database of professional skills in the African Diaspora. The World Bank believes that this database will form the basis on which the diverse skills and experiences of African Diaspora professionals and can be effectively utilised by the World Bank (including its client countries) as a means to support Africa’s continued development.

Industry sectors that receive the largest funding are Law, Justice, and Public Administration; Energy and Mining; Agriculture, Fishing, and Forestry. Together, these sectors received almost 51% of all funds to the region.

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