The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Abuja Investments Company Limited, AICL, Ambassador Maureen Tamuno, has called for stronger partnerships between Africa and its diaspora to drive investment, skills transfer, job creation and sustainable economic development.
Tamuno made the call on Thursday while delivering the keynote address at the seventh Diaspora Africa Conference held at the Afreximbank Africa Trade Centre in Abuja.
The conference was held under the theme, “Homecoming: Bridging the Divide from Diaspora to Africa’s Future.”
Tamuno said the concept of homecoming should go beyond reconnecting with ancestral roots, arguing that it should also create lasting relationships through productive investments, knowledge exchange, enterprise development and initiatives that improve livelihoods.
Drawing from her experience as Nigeria’s former High Commissioner to Jamaica, with concurrent accreditation to Haiti, Belize and the Dominican Republic, she said diaspora engagement should move beyond financial remittances.
According to her, professional expertise, international networks, entrepreneurship and technology transfer are equally valuable resources that Africans abroad can contribute to the continent’s development.
She identified trust, capital, skills, identity and policy as five critical bridges needed to strengthen collaboration between Africans on the continent and those living abroad.
Tamuno stressed that transparency, accountability and reliable institutions would be crucial to attracting sustainable diaspora investment in Africa.
She urged governments to make investment information easily accessible, digitise public systems and ensure that transactions are transparent and independently verifiable.
“Patriotism should inspire an investment; it must never replace due diligence. Shared ancestry does not guarantee financial return,” she said.
The AICL chief executive called for structured investments backed by clear agreements, proper documentation and effective accountability mechanisms.
She also highlighted opportunities within AICL’s portfolio, including real estate, markets, public infrastructure, transportation, entertainment and the creative economy.
Tamuno invited diaspora entrepreneurs, investors and institutions to explore mutually beneficial partnerships with AICL to unlock investment opportunities within the Federal Capital Territory.
She further advocated a shift from the traditional reliance on remittances for consumption towards structured investments capable of generating financial returns while delivering wider social and economic benefits.
According to her, stronger collaboration is also needed in professional training, research, technology and enterprise development.
She noted that diaspora professionals could contribute through mentoring, knowledge exchange and strategic partnerships without necessarily relocating permanently to Nigeria.
Tamuno also called for women, young people and persons with disabilities to be given greater access to investment opportunities, leadership positions, technical training and enterprise ownership.
She said Africa’s development agenda must be inclusive enough to ensure that opportunities are available to all sections of society.
To ensure that the conference resolutions translate into measurable outcomes, Tamuno proposed a Homecoming Partnership Compact to track progress over the next 12 months.
The proposed framework would monitor partnerships established, enterprises supported, people trained and jobs sustained.
She said the success of diaspora engagement should not be judged by announcements and promises alone, but by functioning businesses, responsible investments and tangible improvements in people’s lives.
Tamuno urged Africans at home and abroad to embrace shared responsibility in building a prosperous continent, stressing that trust, mutual respect and sustained collaboration would be essential to creating an Africa that future generations could be proud to call home.
“Let this seventh edition mark a movement from recognition to relationship, from relationship to responsibility, and from responsibility to results.
“We cannot undo the journeys that divided us. But we can choose the partnerships that shape our future,” she added.
