Diaspora Investment and Entrepreneurship

The program’s overarching strategic goal is to improve the overall market for remittances and ultimately achieve further financial inclusion, broader usage of electronic payments and the reduction of the cost of remittances while maintaining financial stability. This will allow migrants and their families a net increase of the available resources for their daily needs, savings as well as investments.

The program is executed by the World Bank’s Financial Infrastructure and Remittances Service Line, which is part of the joint WB/IFC Finance and Markets Global Practice.

The SECO Start-up Fund is a risk capital vehicle launched in 1997 by the Swiss Goverment. The Fund is fully owned by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and is an instrument of SECO’s Economic Cooperation and Development Division. The Fund is managed by FinanceContact Ltd., a Zürich-based private management company.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has a number of projects around the globe aimed at facilitating and enhancing the effectiveness of diaspora investment in local economies, including:

Switzerland supports Moldova in maximizing the positive impact of migration on the country`s socio-economic development. This is done by implementing a program with three interlinked components:

Initiated in June 2014, the project "Innovative Diaspora of the Republic of Moldova" (INDP) is a flagship initiative coordinated by the Moldovan Technology Transfer Network (MTTN) in cooperation with Entranse Moldova. INDP Initiative aims to assist  residents of the  Soroca Business Incubator (IAS) to improve the services and products provided by them by creating and supporting sustainable partnerships between residents IAS and highly skilled diaspora of Moldova (successful entrepreneurs).

Developed by the Bureau for Relations with the Diasporas, the Diaspora Days are aimed at promoting tourism, cultural and economic dialogue, mobilizing diaspora associations and civil society for joint actions to contribute to sustainable development and promoting Moldova internationally.

The organization of events dedicated to Diaspora Days is a perfect occasion to attract migrants and to get them interested in developing local infrastructure, creating services for children and the elderly, launching businesses.

The USAID East Africa Trade and Investment Hub (the Hub) helps to facilitate East African Community (EAC) investment and technology adoption. The project connects investors with investees and builds awareness of opportunities for African and U.S. firms to increase trade and expand business partnerships, particularly under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

The OASIS project, Overall Assistance for Startup Immigration System, which is enforced by the Department of Justice and the Small and Medium Business Administration, and operated by 5 institutions designated as "Global Start-up Immigration Centers" (KIPA, Korea Immigration Service Foundation, Seoul Global Center, Korea Techno Venture Foundation and Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology), is a system to help foreigners establish start-up companies in Korea based on their intellectual properties.

Building on The Hague Process (TPH) experiences with conducting Expert Consultations with the private sector and cities, THP identified the need to form partnerships between the private sector and cities to address migration challenges specific to the city in question.

The partnership between the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) aims to implement joint and convergent programs, projects, and services for OFWs and their families who intend to pursue agribusiness as part of the National Reintegration Program for OFWs. They conducted a series of agribusiness investment forums in different destination countries to promote the program.