19-02-2025
Africa's Diaspora: A Key to Unlocking Sustainable Continental Entrepreneurship
Ben Guerir – The Director of Institutional Affairs at University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P), Khalid Baddou has shed light on Africa's diaspora's critical yet underutilized role in the continent's entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Speaking recently at the 27th Annual Africa Business Conference, held at Harvard Business School this week, Baddou focused on Africa's unexploited diaspora. 27th Annual Africa Business Conference at Harvard Business School
While Africa has a vital economic potential across sectors like agriculture, digital technology, and renewable energy, the continent is showing poor results in unicorn startups.
In stark numbers contrast to the United States who has produced 1,020 unicorn startups, China at 380, and India at 118, the African continent only has nine.
Khalid Baddou contended that even as the continent's diaspora sends nearly $100 billion annually back home, this disparity points to persistent challenges facing African entrepreneurs.
During his panel discussion on diaspora-driven entrepreneurship, Baddou noted that much of this capital is mostly lost to high transaction fees or directly used in consumption rather than spent in productive investments.
However, emerging fintech solutions are beginning to address this issue, especially in Morocco. In this respect, Baddou mentioned that the country's Bank Al-Maghrib has established a Fintech Hub to encourage innovation in financial services and reduce transfer costs.
Sustainable growth, not a copy-paste solution
Baddou's message also challenged the traditional practice of importing Western business models to be directly applied into African markets.
He believes that the solutions to Africa's success should not be conditional on copying and pasting existing solutions, but rather entrepreneurs need to focus on sustainable expansion through exhaustive market research and close collaboration with local stakeholders and governments.
Meanwhile, universities are increasingly playing a crucial role in this transformation, a strategy that is evident through many of UM6P's initiatives.
A living example is the UM6P Associates Network, which aspires to connect Moroccan diaspora with the university's programs, thus providing a model for other African countries.
These initiatives strive to incorporate Africa's diaspora talent into research programs that would benefit the continent, as well as boost pan-African collaboration among young innovators.
Morocco as a model
This push for diaspora engagement aligns with recent policy directions in Morocco. King Mohammed VI has called for creating structured pavements for skilled nationals abroad to contribute to national development.
Through such initiatives, Morocco is positioning itself as a model for other fellow African nations seeking to leverage their global talent pools.
As Africa works to transform its economic potential into reality, Baddou argued during the conference that success requires more than just financial investment.
He particularly said that the disapora's knowledge transfer, mentorship, and allocation of strategic resources will be crucial in building sustainable businesses that not only can thrive in local contexts, but also compete globally.
These stark statistics on unicorn startups that Baddou brought to the surface suggest that Africa's entrepreneurial journey is still in its early stages.
However, with coordinated efforts between governments, educational institutions, and diaspora networks, the continent appears poised to write its own unique success story in global entrepreneurship.
Read also: UM6P's 'Voice of Africa' Amplifies the Need for Resilient African Entrepreneurs
