Diaspora Investment and Entrepreneurship

The German IQ Network is composed of federal, regional, and local organizations. Its tasks include supporting authorities responsible for labour market integration such as employment services, chambers of commerce and industry.

This case study forms part of a series of case studies on good practices, lessons learnt and recommendations extracted from the projects supported by the UN Joint Migration and Development Initiative (JMDI) to enhance migration management for local development. The experience of the JMDI shows that the most effective initiatives are anchored with local or regional authorities and carried out in a multi-stakeholder and participatory approach, including migrants and migrants’ associations or diaspora.

In 2016 IFAD launched its 6th Global Call for Proposals: Scaling Up Remittances (SURE) aiming at financing innovative models to increase economic opportunities for the rural poor by leveraging the impact of remittances and diaspora investment for rural development.

On the 12th of February 2016, the Diaspora Relations Bureau (BRD) of the State Chancellery of Moldova, in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM Moldova) and the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), launched the Diaspora Engagement Hub – a new program of thematic grants for Moldovan citizens abroad, including diaspora associations and initiative groups.

Through its bridge-building character, this platform aims at improving and enhancing the capacity and impact of African diaspora organisations involved in development activities in Africa, and connecting the e-Diaspora organizations in Europe. Effective network dynamics and activities are best managed on a permanent platform, setting structured grounds for a competent delivery of relevant and appropriate context specific services to diaspora organizations, countries of destination and countries of origin.

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation supported the creation of a platform for the Bosnian and Herzegovinian Diaspora in Switzerland, which connects the Diaspora in Switzerland with the purpose of joining forces to support the development of the country of origin beyond the many existing individual contributions at family or community level.

The overall goal of IOM's project in Moldova is to create enabling conditions for Moldovan diaspora’s systematic engagement in their homeland’s socio-economic development through sharing technical expertise and knowledge they acquired abroad and cultivating Romanian language skills among the second generation of migrants.

The association ‘Migration and Development’ is a civil society organization which has been engaged in integrated and participative development with migrants in southern Morocco for many years. Its engagement is anchored in the intention of enhancing the synergies between migrants and their territories in their community of origin. As such, the communities of origin are strongly involved in defining their needs and ensuring that migrants’ contributions are factored in when seeking to contribute to the development of communities of origin.

The CTRS project is an initiative of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in Tunisia. The project interventions focus on cooperation with the Tunisian Government in line with its efforts in strengthening Tunisia’s links with its diaspora and to promoting the diaspora’s engagement in Tunisia’s national and local development.

The project aims at acknowledging the competences and skills of Tunisians living in Switzerland with view to strengthening their contribution to the socio-economic development of Tunisia in four areas:

This project is a part of a larger multi-year intervention “Moldova – Making the Most of Migration”, funded by the Swiss Development Cooperation and beginning in mid-2015.

The project is implemented in partnership between IOM Moldova and the Diaspora Relations Bureau (BRD) in synergy and close coordination with the two other SDC commissioned project (implemented by UNDP and IASCI).