Beyond Remittances | African Diaspora Investment Symposium
Last week at ADIS25, I felt the familiar strain of overfilled luggage – my family’s ritual before every Nigeria trip.
Long before I learned the word “remittance,” we carried hope across oceans. My parents sat on suitcases, grunting to zip cappuccino powder tins, old FILAs, and just-right Marshall’s finds for every-single-relative back home.
At the 10th anniversary African Diaspora Network dinner, my childhood memory flashed in one The World Bank estimate: $100 billion in 2024 remittances to Africa, 80 percent covering daily needs. It suddenly felt like lugging every suitcase in the ballroom at once.
Kedest Tesfagiorgis noted Africa’s population will double by mid-century, bursting with potential. And ADN founder, Almaz Negash, challenged us to stop transactional ties and start transformational partnerships: moving past household dollars to sustained capital and care.
By the end of the night, my parents’ stuffed-baggage optimism showed up in entrepreneurs pitching ventures, laughter across tables, and our diaspora’s palpable ambition. It's a legacy and a gift to keep building in rooms like these: where ingenuity sparks systematic investment in our shared future.
✈️ My next stop: The Wellbeing Project's global HEARTH Summit in Slovenia, convening global changemakers on being well while doing good. If you’re there, or work at the intersection of cross-cultural engagement, social innovation, and impact, send a wave. Let’s build beyond remittances.
Originally appeared on LinkedIN.
