Alistair Cowan
Regional Programme Innovation Coordinator - East Africa and Great Lakes
News
Exploring Digital Diaspora Investment Opportunities in Dadaab
DRC is conducting research on diaspora finance to establish a base of knowledge for development of a diaspora component as part of DRCs endeavor to improving employment and livelihood opportunities in Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya.
Supporting local households and small business owners
Many households and small business owners in refugee camps, including Dadaab camp in Kenya rely on remittances provided by friends and family in the diaspora to sustain their incomes and business operations. Refugees have restricted access to financial services in Kenyan financial markets due to a lack of proper documentation, so finance provided through diaspora communities is vital for small business owners. However, strong financial services connections must be created in order to give refugees and members of the host community the chance to change from a model of ongoing dependence to self-reliance. Additionally, there is still a lack of emphasis on developing an environment that facilitates business financing for refugees in Kenya.
To improve and leverage the opportunity that diaspora remittances provide in the Dadaab camp, DRC is conducting research to better understand diaspora finance flows to small business owners to assess the viability of developing investment opportunities based on existing practices. With the research DRC will explore ways to leverage the effects of the existing engagement by diaspora, including viability of digitizing of diaspora remittances.
Identifying the financial link between diaspora communities and small businesses.
Therefore, DRC will seek to better understand the current finance flows between diaspora communities and small businesses in Dadaab, seeing if there is scope for alternative approaches. Furthermore, DRC will explore the investment potential for diaspora finance, looking at ways that diaspora finance can be used as investment capita. In this, digital platforms can play a part, looking at the viability of a digital platform to connect investors to small businesses
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