WACS forum Enhancing effectiveness of Diaspora groups Dr Banjoko- AfricaRecruit 7 th October 08 London United Kingdom

Challenges to Diaspora Engagement  Project funding: This is a major challenge that has been identified by majority, if not all the Diaspora organisations  External dependence on financial support which undermines the ownership of the project  Buy-in / support of projects by national governments, private and related institutions in Africa  Participation: reaching the targeted beneficiaries of projects poses a challenge  Registration of organisations as a charitable organisation, networks is a challenge in some recipient countries due to bottle neck bureaucracy  Lack of confidence on the part of Africans in believing that they can bring about development by themselves

Reasons for failure of Diaspora projects  Lack of an African conceptual framework to provide an agenda to guide engagement based on identified needs and priority by stakeholders in Africa.  Adhoc rather than institutionalised process  Limited or no understanding on how to effectively utilise the Diaspora and the Diaspora on how to add value  Cultural differences between the Diaspora and stakeholders on the ground  Stereotypical views and perception  Lack of access to information and knowledge of who to approach  Lack of government policies (host and sending countries)  Communication barriers  Lack of capacity to manage project  Lack of development of long-term partnerships

Enhancing Effectiveness  Enabling and facilitating an informed Diaspora  A robust programme plan of actions with clear deliverables (results driven) and defined actions backed with milestones and timeframes (process orientated)  Lack of Diaspora engagement is not the issue but how to ensure that the Diaspora are fully aware of opportunities in Africa on a sustained basis i.e. what are the identified needs/priorities. Creating ongoing awareness of the opportunities using global means of communication and engagement.  Understanding of the policy enhancers to facilitate and harness Diaspora engagement by host and sending countries.  Capturing and leveraging of funding from within Africa and outside Africa aimed at building capacity  Developing the required infrastructure to enable and facilitate Diaspora engagement - creating and sustaining the linkages e.g. partnership, collaboration, networking, database  Promoting and sharing best practices  Awareness and understanding of the limitations of the Diaspora Moving from Adhoc to Institutional engagement – Main streaming