Every year, the African diaspora sends far more money to the continent than all international donors combined. The African Development Bank now intends to turn it into a genuine financing lever. On Monday, November 9, 2026, at the Salons Hoche in Paris’s 8th arrondissement, the institution presented its “Diaspora Initiative” at a high-level meeting devoted to mobilising diaspora capital for Africa’s prosperity and transformation.
Alongside the Bank Group’s president, Sidi Ould Tah, the guest list included policymakers, representatives of African and international institutions, investors, entrepreneurs and diaspora leaders. On the agenda: investment opportunities, institutional and financial partnerships, and the mechanisms that can turn diaspora capital into concrete projects with real economic and social impact.
The figures explain the Bank’s interest. According to the World Bank, remittances from the African diaspora exceeded $100 billion in 2025, well ahead of the official development assistance received by the continent, estimated at between $30 billion and $34 billion. In some countries, these transfers carry great weight: in Liberia, they amounted to 15.4% of GDP in 2024. Yet these flows remain largely devoted to household spending. That is precisely the model the AfDB wants to move beyond, by encouraging productive investment, entrepreneurship and skills transfer.
The initiative did not come out of nowhere. It is part of the “Four Cardinal Points”, Sidi Ould Tah’s strategic roadmap, which emphasises unlocking African capital, financial sovereignty, human capital and support for small businesses led by women and young people. It also builds on the Brazzaville Appeal, adopted on May 28, 2026 by representatives of civil society, African philanthropic organisations and the diaspora on the sidelines of the Bank’s Annual Meetings in the Congolese capital.
At the heart of this strategy lies the New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD). The AfDB estimates that Africa holds around $4 trillion in savings in pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and similar vehicles, but that these resources remain scattered. The diaspora is seen as one more piece of the puzzle.
For the Bank’s Mauritanian president, in office since September 2025, this effort follows an early success: the replenishment of the African Development Fund, completed in December 2025 with a record $11 billion.
The AfDB is not alone in this field. On the same day, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission announced it is targeting $100 billion in annual investment from Nigerians abroad, on the eve of a dedicated summit opening this Tuesday in Abuja. Rwanda, for its part, has already tapped its diaspora’s savings through a bond issued by its development bank.
The challenge remains considerable. Turning scattered household savings into structured investment requires winning the trust of diaspora investors, offering credible products and guaranteeing transparency. As the AfDB itself puts its ambition, the task now is to move from commitment to action.