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Nigeria Constitutes Largest Diaspora Group in U.S — CCA
- By Williams Ekanem
- Published September 5th, 2011
- Washington File
- Unrated
The Corporate Council on Africa, (CCA) a group that strengthens and facilitates commercial relationship between the United States and the African continent says Nigerians constitute the largest Diaspora groups in the United States.
Other countries listed to have substantial number of those in Diaspora in the U.S. include Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa and Sierra Leone in that order.
The Council stated in its latest newsletter made available to BusinessWorld that generally, the African Diaspora constitutes 5% of the black population in the U.S.
CCA analyses stated that 50% of the African Diaspora have bachelors or advanced degrees, compared to 23% of native born Americans The CCA disclosed that many development experts associate economic growth and the rise of an African middle class with African Diaspora communities around the world and, specifically, investments made by them back in their home countries.
According to the Council, the UN’s Office of the Special Adviser on Africa put remittances from Africans working abroad in the period 2000-2003 to averaged about $17 billion, rising to around $40 billion in 2008, often surpasses foreign aid.
Seen as an agent of positive change and contributing up to 2.9 percent of the continent’s total GDP per annum, the African Diaspora has officially been dubbed the sixth region of Africa by the African Union Commission, it stated. The international community, including governments, multi-lateral organizations, and international development institutions, according to CCA, have refocused their “Africa” efforts/approach to align themselves with this phenomenon.
In the United States, the Secretary of State’s Office of Global Partnerships, in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), organized an action-oriented Global Diaspora Forum that aims at not to recognize and celebrate the contribution of Diaspora communities to America’s relationship with their countries of origin or ancestry, but also to foster Diaspora-centric partnership models and encourage intra-Diaspora collaboration and learning. The newsletter disclosed that USAID, in partnership with Western Union, has the African Diaspora Market Place (ADM), a business plan competition that supports the entrepreneurial spirit and resources of the U.S.-based African Diaspora.
ADM promotes economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa by facilitating Diaspora direct investment in viable small and medium enterprises. Finalists are chosen based on their business ideas and proposal, without regard to the sub-Saharan African country of implementation. ADM winners will sign a project contract that outlines a milestone and disbursement schedule for the award grant. Grant payments are in accordance to the milestones specified in the winner’s proposal. Each project receives technical assistance and is monitored for a period of up to 18 month. The performance and lessons learned of the projects are then disseminated to the broader Diaspora business and development communities.
Also, on Capitol Hill, Congressman Bobby L. Rush, a Democrat from Illinois has introduced “The African Investment and Diaspora Act of 2011” (AIDA), a bill designed to further strengthen the trade relationship between the United States and Africa by tapping into the African Diaspora community. The bill embraces the idea of helping U.S.-based Africans to actively participate in the economic development of their countries.
Other countries listed to have substantial number of those in Diaspora in the U.S. include Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa and Sierra Leone in that order.
The Council stated in its latest newsletter made available to BusinessWorld that generally, the African Diaspora constitutes 5% of the black population in the U.S.
CCA analyses stated that 50% of the African Diaspora have bachelors or advanced degrees, compared to 23% of native born Americans The CCA disclosed that many development experts associate economic growth and the rise of an African middle class with African Diaspora communities around the world and, specifically, investments made by them back in their home countries.
According to the Council, the UN’s Office of the Special Adviser on Africa put remittances from Africans working abroad in the period 2000-2003 to averaged about $17 billion, rising to around $40 billion in 2008, often surpasses foreign aid.
Seen as an agent of positive change and contributing up to 2.9 percent of the continent’s total GDP per annum, the African Diaspora has officially been dubbed the sixth region of Africa by the African Union Commission, it stated. The international community, including governments, multi-lateral organizations, and international development institutions, according to CCA, have refocused their “Africa” efforts/approach to align themselves with this phenomenon.
In the United States, the Secretary of State’s Office of Global Partnerships, in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), organized an action-oriented Global Diaspora Forum that aims at not to recognize and celebrate the contribution of Diaspora communities to America’s relationship with their countries of origin or ancestry, but also to foster Diaspora-centric partnership models and encourage intra-Diaspora collaboration and learning. The newsletter disclosed that USAID, in partnership with Western Union, has the African Diaspora Market Place (ADM), a business plan competition that supports the entrepreneurial spirit and resources of the U.S.-based African Diaspora.
ADM promotes economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa by facilitating Diaspora direct investment in viable small and medium enterprises. Finalists are chosen based on their business ideas and proposal, without regard to the sub-Saharan African country of implementation. ADM winners will sign a project contract that outlines a milestone and disbursement schedule for the award grant. Grant payments are in accordance to the milestones specified in the winner’s proposal. Each project receives technical assistance and is monitored for a period of up to 18 month. The performance and lessons learned of the projects are then disseminated to the broader Diaspora business and development communities.
Also, on Capitol Hill, Congressman Bobby L. Rush, a Democrat from Illinois has introduced “The African Investment and Diaspora Act of 2011” (AIDA), a bill designed to further strengthen the trade relationship between the United States and Africa by tapping into the African Diaspora community. The bill embraces the idea of helping U.S.-based Africans to actively participate in the economic development of their countries.
