Africa leverages diaspora power in the face of migration and climate crises

As the world becomes increasingly interconnected and new challenges such as climate change emerge, migration has become a key topic, especially in Africa, which is constantly impacted by unpredictable weather conditions.

The continent has experienced both the benefits and drawbacks of migration. On the one hand, Africa is facing a significant brain drain – every year as many as 70,000 qualified specialists leave their jobs in search of better opportunities. On the other hand, climate-driven migration places a burden on both migrants and receiving countries due to limited resources.

But there is also some silver lining: the African diaspora is increasingly investing in the country, contributing through remittances and establishing businesses that create jobs and benefit local communities.

mass migration and social development in Africa

A joint report by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) titled “Diaspora Engagement, Climate-Driven Migration and Skills Mobility: Focus on Africa” delves into the complex aspects of migration, highlighting its implications for social development and mitigation poverty across the continent.

The report, published in March 2024, highlights the complex relationship between diaspora engagement, climate-driven migration and skills mobility in Africa. It sheds light on how these phenomena interpenetrate, influence each other, and ultimately influence the socio-economic landscape of the continent.

The report notes that African diaspora communities play a key role in supporting development in their countries of origin. For example, remittances sent by diaspora members contribute significantly to national economies, saving many households and facilitating investment in education, health care and infrastructure.

In 2023, remittances sent to sub-Saharan Africa reached $54 billion, with estimates that the continent will receive more than $100 billion from Africans living in the diaspora this year.

Leveraging skill mobility

Skills mobility – another key aspect highlighted in the report – is crucial to driving innovation, entrepreneurship and economic growth in Africa. The migration of qualified people, including specialists, scientists and entrepreneurs, as the authors of the report point out, catalyzes development through cross-border transfer of knowledge, technology and specialist knowledge.

“In Africa, migration is a powerful tool for poverty reduction, offering individuals the opportunity to escape deep-rooted cycles of deprivation,” Anita Nkirote, a Kenyan policy and development expert, told FairPlanet.

“It promotes cultural exchange, knowledge transfer and economic diversification, driving progress and prosperity across the continent,” she added, echoing the report’s conclusions.

Aware of the threats facing the continent such as climate change, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss, Africans in the diaspora are using their skills and resources to address these challenges. They pursue initiatives such as affordable solar energy solutions that reduce emissions and combat energy poverty, and climate-smart agricultural technology solutions that help farmers adapt to changing weather patterns.

Solar Sister is one such example. Founded by Nigerian-American entrepreneur Katherine Lucey, Solar Sister enables women entrepreneurs in Africa to distribute clean energy products, including solar lamps and cookers.

The organization operates on the belief that women are key agents of change in their communities. Local women who join the program are dubbed Solar Sister entrepreneurs and receive a year of training in solar technology, business management and marketing strategies.

According to the organization, these women are selected based on their leadership qualities, entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to improving the lives of those around them.

They then receive financial support to sell solar-powered products such as solar lanterns, phone chargers, and larger home solar systems that can power multiple devices in their communities.

Solar Sister also provides entrepreneurs with a “Business in a Bag” kit to help them start their business. The set includes a receipt book, accounting purse, product brochures with detailed information about each product, posters and company stickers.

The organization’s employees also offer mentoring to entrepreneurs after they start their businesses, monitoring the progress of their businesses.

Operating in various African countries, including Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, the network has so far supported over 5,000 women entrepreneurs, who in turn have reached over 1.5 million people with clean energy solutions.

“The Solar Sister internship program gave me the opportunity to receive relevant business training. The skills I acquired during the training were very helpful because now I know that it is better to be disciplined, persistent and not give up even when my clients do not cooperate.” – wrote Christine Ayieko, one of the entrepreneurs who benefited from the program, on the organization’s website. “I also ensure that sales records are kept and savings are made to support the family.”

Another example of a diaspora-backed network reinvesting in Africa is Kobo360, a Nigerian logistics platform that uses technology to optimize freight transport and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Founded by Ife Oyedele II and Obi Ozor in 2016, the idea for Kobo360 came when Ozor, then a college student in Michigan, was having difficulty shipping diapers to Nigeria. It faced slow movement of goods and high transportation costs, making such goods unaffordable for many Nigerians.

He decided to do something about it and founded an online logistics company. The Kobo 360 platform is a digital tool available in web and mobile applications, tailored to the needs of companies and individuals who would like to transport their goods using truck owners.

The platform then connects these orders to available trucks near the company and allows shippers and truck owners to monitor shipment status in real time.

By digitizing the logistics value chain, Kobo360 aims to improve operational efficiency, reduce empty runs and minimize fuel consumption. The company says it uses data analytics to optimize truck routes across its network, thereby reducing empty feeder trips and overall vehicle distance. This, they believe, leads to lower fuel consumption and emissions per shipment.

For long-haul travel, the startup promotes the use of low-emission modes of transport such as rail and waterways.

To date, the company has facilitated the transportation of over 500,000 tonnes of cargo, reducing emissions by over 20,000 tonnes of CO2 and supporting thousands of truck drivers across Africa.

What was left out of the report

However, while the report highlighted the link between migration, skills mobility and the role of the African diaspora in the fight against climate change, it was criticized by experts and researchers. They argue that it does not provide specific reasons linking migration to climate change, and instead offers a generalized African perspective.

Some experts maintain that the report does not take into account migration due to the various reasons why people migrate to different regions and climatic conditions. For example, the factors driving pastoralists in the Sahel to migrate due to extreme heat are very different from those affecting people displaced by cyclones in Mozambique.

According to some voices in Africa, another weakness of the report is its tendency to prioritize economic prospects at the expense of broader social, cultural and environmental considerations.

They argue that while economic factors play a significant role in driving migration, deeper analysis is needed to fully understand its impact. This analysis should take into account various aspects such as the design of society, why people move, and the social, cultural, economic, political and environmental forces that drive migration.

“By focusing primarily on economic aspects, the report ignores important social and environmental dimensions of migration, such as conflict, persecution, discrimination, natural disasters and displacement, thereby limiting the effectiveness of policy recommendations,” Nkirote concluded.

Photo by Joshua Oluwagbemiga.