The African diaspora wants to play a role in restoring the continent from Covid-19; with a focus on investing in the most troubled areas of the economy.
Next month, a group of welfare campers in the diaspora are expected to hold a symposium on how Africans living outside the continent can contribute to the recovery.
The symposium, scheduled for December 8 to 10, is supposed to be part of an annual ritual for the Kenyan Diaspora Alliance, a Kenyan lobby for various diaspora associations, to discuss the Kenyan economy and easy overpayment.
This time, however, the circumstances of Covid-19 prompted the alliance to reach out to partners across the continent to discuss the entire economy of Africa, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
The organizers say next month’s African Diaspora Symposium ADS2020 will discuss the theme: “Leveraging Diaspora Resources for Africa’s Economic Recovery Post-Covid” and will be included in the annual Kenya Diaspora Homecoming Convention KDHC2020 hosted at the Ole Sereni Hotel.
The Alliance is holding the 7th meeting in a row.
Yet Covid-19’s persistence in Kenya and the mainland continues that some of the activities may be limited to virtual meetings.
“Subject to the Ministry of Health’s Covid-19 protocol, the event will be a hybrid,” said Shem Ochuodho, the KDA’s global chair.
“About 200 guest speakers and participants consisting of industry experts, policymakers and government officials from across the continent will be physically at Ole Sereni, while the rest will virtually participate.”
KDA is organizing the event with the emerging African diaspora alliance, which has yet to formally take off after the establishment was recently announced.
According to the portals, there are ties with organizations in the Caribbean, African American and diaspora federations in other countries to host an African diaspora symposium.
The meeting comes at a time when the diaspora seems to be resisting the economic hardships experienced throughout the year to keep sending money home. Figures from the Central Bank of Kenya showed that total inflows in the 12 months to September amounted to $ 2.967 million (Sh322.8 billion) compared to $ 2.786 (Sh303.1 billion) in the 12 months to September 2019.
Even with the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, it seems that the African diaspora has shaken up the challenge of taking it all.
Consistent diaspora transfers to the mainland amounted to $ 80 billion, of which $ 48 billion was attributed to sub-Saharan Africa transfers for last year, according to the World Bank.
The symposium provides an opportunity for dialogue and reflection on and planning for an Africa after the pandemic.
An important area of ​​discussion, say organizers, is the “deepening of the involvement of the 6th region – African distribution – through co-investment” with African companies and governments in sectors as diverse as healthcare and manufacturing, infrastructure and agricultural processing, tourism and import-export, digital economy and arts, among others.
The continent is usually categorized into five regions; north, south, east, west and central.