Figures from several sources show that remittance surpassed both ODA and FDI by important margins in the last five years. Remittance to Africa in its classical definition is money sent home by people of African origins resident abroad to their families for their upkeep. Remittance, as different from the first two sources of development finance, involves Africans helping Africans.

The African diaspora contribution to African development is so important that the African Union has designated it as a sixth development zone, along with the five internal zones consisting of West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, Southern Africa, and North Africa. And remittance has become such an important source of development financing that the African Union has set up a whole institution, the African Institute of Remittance (AIR) for leveraging this source of development finance.

Some of the issues and questions to be addressed are:
Remittance in retrospect: How has remittance fared in itself and as a competing source of development finance in the past?
Remittance in perspective: How can we further facilitate remittance and leverage it to develop Africa?
Remittance in Afrofuturist dimensions: Where do we go beyond remittance? Is a remittance-free “Wakanda” in sight?

Schedule:
10am to 10.20: Registration
10.20 to 10.30: Welcome and introduction to workshop

10.30 to 11.15: Prof Moses Kiggundu: Africa’s Diaspora Remittances: Where We’re Today and Where We Need to Go Tomorrow
11.15 to 12.00: Ms Eiman Kheir: Some AU initiatives on African diaspora investments

12 to 2pm: Lunch

2pm to 2.45: Dr Stephen Adaawen: Sending and Receiving Migrant Remittances from Abroad: Critical Insights from Ghanaian Diaspora in Germany
2.45 to 3.30: Dr Antony Otieno Ong’ayo: Contribution of remittances and diaspora investment to the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa

3.30 to 4pm: Break
4pm to 4.45: Open Discussion Forum
4.45 to 5pm: Closing Remarks