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Supporting Diaspora Entrepreneurship Between Europe and Africa
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Expertise France has taken the opportunity of the closing seminar for Meet Africa in Benguerir, in Morocco, and the Ancrages Forum in Lille on 12 June to reaffirm its commitment to diaspora entrepreneurship between Europe and Africa. These two flagship events have highlighted initiatives to support diaspora entrepreneurs and thereby promote exchanges and economic development between the two continents.
The New Africa-France Summit, which was held in Montpellier on 8 October 2021, aimed to reinvent the relationship between Africa and France and thereby provide future generations with a new framework for discussion and action. On this occasion, French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed his commitment to support diasporas, stressing that “our diaspora is an opportunity”. This ambition was reiterated in May 2023 at the Presidential Council on Development, with a clear objective: promote African innovation and entrepreneurship to contribute to the common destiny of European and African youth.
In this context, Expertise France, within AFD Group, plays a key role by supporting diaspora entrepreneurship between Europe and Africa. It contributes to developing and structuring entrepreneurial ecosystems, thereby promoting the creation of companies that generate wealth and employment. Expertise France particularly focuses on women’s entrepreneurship, with initiatives such as the “Pour Elles” programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo (AFD) and the regional “Investing in Young Businesses in Africa” (IYBA-SEED) programme. Furthermore, it supports green entrepreneurship through programmes such as Greenov’i in Tunisia, and promotes digital development, thereby creating opportunities for diaspora entrepreneurs to innovate and prosper.
Positive results for MEET Africa 2
Launched in 2020, MEET Africa 2 is a project to develop diaspora entrepreneurship between Europe and Africa, implemented by Expertise France and co-financed with €8.5 million by the European Union and Agence Française de Développement. Its objective is to promote entrepreneurship and sustainable jobs in Africa by mobilising the talent and resources of diasporas living in Europe, or who have recently returned to live in Africa. MEET Africa 2 operates in five partner countries: Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia.
Following 42 months of activity, which included strengthening stakeholders in entrepreneurial ecosystems in the partner African countries and supporting the projects of African diaspora entrepreneurs in Europe, the MEET Africa 2 project proposed to gather all its institutional and operational partners at a closing seminar. This two-day seminar was held in Morocco, one of the member countries of the project, and gathered all the stakeholders to close the activities, report on the results, capitalise on the mechanisms and good practices, and collectively consider the follow-up to MEET Africa 2.
MEET Africa has achieved significant results since 2020: 142 entrepreneurs have been supported, 116 have been financed, and 130 jobs have been created. In addition, 59 events have been organised, raising awareness among 5,000 people. The project has also provided five technical assistance programmes for public partners and developed three capitalisation tools.
Indian Ocean: promoting diaspora entrepreneurship
Diasporas play a crucial role in international solidarity. According to the World Bank, in 2021, remittances towards low- and middle-income countries reached $605 billion, thus largely exceeding the total amount of Official Development Assistance. Expertise France is aware of these dynamics and supports diaspora entrepreneurship through various projects financed by Agence Française de Développement (AFD).
In the Comoros, the project to Support Diaspora Entrepreneurs aims to strengthen cohesion, solidarity and unity among all Comorian residents and the diaspora and thereby promote sustainable development. The activities include support for initiators of socio-economic projects from the diaspora to develop their potential and human capital.
In Madagascar, the project TADY – Tantsoroka ho an’ny Diaspora – aims to create conducive conditions for diaspora mobilisation for the socioeconomic development of Madagascar. This project is based on three pillars: improve knowledge about the diaspora, strengthen institutional capacities and promote local development. This project is implemented by a consortium led by Expertise France, in collaboration with IRD (for research and capitalisation) and IOM (for the volunteer programme).
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