The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Abuja Investments Company Limited (AICL), Her Excellency, Ambassador Maureen Tamuno, has known as for stronger partnerships between Africa and its diaspora to speed up funding, facilitate expertise switch, create jobs and promote sustainable financial improvement throughout the continent.
Tamuno made the decision on Thursday whereas delivering the keynote deal with on the seventh Diaspora Africa Conference, held on the Afreximbank Africa Trade Centre, Abuja, beneath the theme, ‘Homecoming: Bridging the Divide from Diaspora to Africa’s Future’.
She mentioned homecoming ought to transcend reconnecting with ancestral roots to constructing lasting relationships by means of productive investments, data trade, enterprise improvement and initiatives able to bettering livelihoods.
Drawing on her expertise as Nigeria’s former High Commissioner to Jamaica, with concurrent accreditation to Haiti, Belize and the Dominican Republic, Tamuno careworn that diaspora engagement ought to prolong past monetary remittances to incorporate skilled experience, worldwide networks, entrepreneurship and know-how switch.
She recognized belief, capital, expertise, id and coverage as 5 important bridges required to strengthen collaboration between Africans at house and overseas.
According to her, transparency, accountability and dependable establishments are important to attracting diaspora investments. She urged governments to make funding data accessible, digitise public techniques and be sure that transactions are clear and independently verifiable.
“Patriotism should inspire an investment; it must never replace due diligence. Shared ancestry does not guarantee financial return,” she mentioned, advocating structured investments backed by clear agreements, correct documentation and efficient accountability mechanisms.
The AICL chief government highlighted funding alternatives throughout the corporate’s portfolio, together with actual property, markets, public infrastructure, transportation, leisure and the artistic financial system. She invited diaspora entrepreneurs, traders and establishments to discover mutually useful partnerships with AICL to unlock alternatives throughout the Federal Capital Territory.
She additionally advocated a shift from the standard emphasis on remittances for consumption in direction of structured investments that generate monetary returns whereas delivering social and financial advantages.
Tamuno known as for stronger collaboration in skilled coaching, analysis, know-how and enterprise improvement, noting that diaspora professionals might contribute by means of mentoring, data trade and partnerships with out essentially relocating completely to Nigeria.
She additional careworn the significance of together with girls, younger folks and individuals with disabilities in funding alternatives, management, technical coaching and enterprise possession, saying Africa’s improvement should present inclusive alternatives for all.
To translate the convention’s resolutions into measurable outcomes, Tamuno proposed a Homecoming Partnership Compact to trace progress over the following 12 months. The proposed framework would monitor partnerships established, enterprises supported, folks educated and jobs sustained.
She mentioned the success of diaspora engagement must be measured not by bulletins and guarantees alone, however by functioning companies, accountable investments and tangible enhancements in folks’s lives.
Tamuno urged Africans at house and overseas to embrace shared duty in constructing a affluent continent, stressing that belief, mutual respect and sustained collaboration have been important to creating an Africa that future generations can be proud to name house.
“Let this seventh edition mark a movement from recognition to relationship, from relationship to responsibility, and from responsibility to results.We cannot undo the journeys that divided us. But we can choose the partnerships that shape our future.” she added.
