How To Create a Diaspora Network for Economic Development

This week I had the chance to teach 18+ Caribbean countries about new strategies to attract foreign investment (online and offline) to their countries and re-think how they can support their economies. While Caribbean locations offer some of the most incredible beaches, food, and experiences the world has to offer, many of its communities still have a disproportionate share of challenges ranging from poverty and social inequality to political instability and disaster relief. One of the highlights of the workshop for me was our in-depth discussions on the "diaspora effect" for economic investment.

A diaspora is defined as a community of people who live outside their country of origin but in some way are still connected to it. With conventional tactics to attract foreign direct investment in the forefront for most countries, diaspora approaches are often overlooked yet provide billions of dollars in investment. Some studies even have shown that a country's Diaspora can account for 20% - 30% of the total FDI inflows. In the United States, we use the term "Boomerang" to categorize people who live outside of their home state (or town) for a time and have come back. Given the state of our tight labor market, attracting and engaging these audiences to help meet our precarious workforce demands has become a growing need. 

As noted by Michael Fullilove, Program Director of Global Issues at The Lowy Institute "Tangible benefits that can accrue to a home country from its diaspora; expats can prompt bilateral trade, promote FDI, act as business middlemen. And when they return home, as they usually do, they bring with them new skills and experiences and networks."

Quietly a handful of countries and their connected investment promotion organizations such as Ireland, Lithuania, and Haiti have been working to improve social and economic outcomes with this long tail strategy.  Regardless of how they go about doing it, all Communities should consider better ways to engage the diaspora.

Are you a government, corporate or philanthropic leader who wants to double down on a diaspora strategy? If so, consider the following tactics: 

Create an FDI attraction plan with the objectives of generating programmatic awareness, engagement, Diaspora network FDI. 

• Build and operate a database of skilled Diaspora representatives across industry sectors to leverage for your plan
• Activate your plan Mobilize support, with Diaspora influencers and networking opportunities
• Provide policy recommendations for government discretion to give the program a better chance to succeed.

Got examples of Diaspora engagement strategies in practice? Id love to hear your thoughts! Comment below or send me messages.