CIPA launched the African Diaspora Investment Fund (ADIF) in the last quarter of 2021. The ADIF is a culmination of months of deliberations, consultations and mockups spearheaded by CIPA in collaboration with its financial, development and private sector partners, and born out of CIPA identifying an opportunity to satisfy the need of African diaspora to contribute to African development.
The launch of the Fund featured visits to Ghana by several prominent individuals including pop stars, athletes, celebrated members in the American and European entertainment industry, as well as accomplished business owners and executives in the diaspora.
One of the featured members of the group; Nico Sereba, of ‘Nico and Vinz’ fame visited Ghana between late November to early December 2021 and met with members of CIPA’s ADIF team to discuss the modalities of the fund and expressed keen interest in investing in projects across the African continent.
A recurring theme CIPA discovered in its research leading to the creation of the fund is the potential role that diaspora communities can play in promoting the economic development in their countries of origin. The objective of the African Diaspora Investment Fund then, is to mobilize diaspora funds for structured profitable investment in socially responsible and impactful ventures and schemes. The fund gives the diaspora the opportunity to invest in business as angels and participate through syndications in other energy, agriculture, real estate, among other undertakings.
Nico, had this to say about the establishment of the fund, “Our trip to Ghana was awesome and the numerous business opportunities that existed are amazing. Honestly, I fell in love with Ghana and will surely be an advocate in promoting diaspora investments on the continent”.
EVP & Managing Director of CIPA, Kwaku Osei-Sarpong, said about the partnership, “We applaud Nico and the other African diaspora on embarking on this journey of investment in Africa. Through our collaborative efforts in finding opportunities and investing in them, we are reminded that the power to develop Africa to be an industrialized continent depends equally on us and the diaspora, as much as our dependency on DFI’s and foreign donors. We are excited Nico serves as an example of what is possible when our diaspora are interested in Africa’s prosperity”.
With remittances to developing countries estimated at about $551 billion in 2019, the idea of putting diaspora capital to more productive use has been further amplified by the necessity to explore new sources of financing for investment to supplement traditional domestic and external resources.
It’s envisioned that the fund will realize innovative and optimal usage of African diaspora resources for inclusive development in Africa. Some key sectors that the fund will focus on are energy, agriculture, real estate & infrastructure, technology, financial services (with focus on financial inclusion), among others. The fund will enable diaspora investors, diaspora organizations and actors on the ground to build the capacity necessary to undertake cross-border investments and open up access to African markets.
