Diaspora Investment and Entrepreneurship

Launched in 2018, the French initiative Choose Africa fulfils France’s commitment to African entrepreneurship, supporting local start-ups and MSMEs. 

DIASDEV is a joint project initiated by the French Development Agency and the Caisse des Dépôts from France, Italy, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia and carried out in partnership with public-sector financial institutions in 2021. 

DIASDEV aims to increase diasporas’ capacity to mobilize their savings for investing in their countries of origin. To achieve this goal, the project is structured around two pillars: 

i) Facilitation fund for diasporas’ investments, offering funding for technical and financial assistance to financial operators, banks, post offices 

The Future Forum is an opportunity to look ahead, sharing practices and ideas for how to maximise the potential of diaspora engagement for development in the years ahead.

It was indeed designed in response to calls from diaspora organisations in Europe to have more opportunities to communicate with each other, as well as with the European institutions, countries of heritage and international organisations.

As part of the efforts to mainstream diaspora expertise in development, the European Union Global Diaspora Facility (EUDiF) runs an internship programme for self-identifying diaspora youth based in Europe, with heritage in the partner regions Africa, Asia, Latin America & the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Pacific.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Union Commission (AUC have signed an agreement for $3.9 million in grant financing to strengthen investment, human capital and philanthropic engagement from the diaspora in eight African countries.  

The TADY project started in June 2023 funded by the French Development Agency (AFD). 

It aims to structure public policies for the Malagasy diaspora, by strengthening the institutional framework and developing local cultural and economic capital. In particular, it creates conditions conducive to diaspora mobilisation for the socioeconomic development of Madagascar. This project is based on three main objectives:

On 12 April 2019, the LOHARANO programme for youth volunteers from the Malagasy Diaspora was launched during a press conference organized in Antananarivo by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Communication and Culture, and IOM. This programme – the first of its kind – seeks to create and develop a space for exchange and interaction between the Malagasy Diaspora and institutional stakeholders in Madagascar, as well as to entice a constructive engagement between the Diaspora and the general Malagasy population. 

Tacka povratka (Returning Point) is an online diaspora platform established by the Serbian Entrepreneurs and Science Technology Park Belgrade, with support of the Serbia Creates platform. 

The Moldovan government launched "e Moldova ta”, which is an online communication platform promoting diaspora engagement, information services, mobilisation of expertise for different sectors and active participation in the development of our country.

The M4SD Programme (2019-2023) aimed to harness the development benefits and reduce the negative effects of migration for host and home communities, migrants, and their family members. A key component of this Programme was to showcase how inclusive policies can be implemented locally and how the results contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.