Unlocking diaspora capital for Ghana’s economic growth

Diaspora investment has long been recognised as an engine of growth in Ghana. Over the past two decades, there has been a clear evolution in policy, resulting in a range of tangible initiatives, a comprehensive diaspora engagement framework, and continued efforts to mobilise diaspora participation in Ghana’s development. 

However, despite these significant strides and Ghana’s relative progress compared to many other African countries, there remains a need to bridge the gap between an enabling policy environment and practical implementation that can mobilise diaspora capital and position it for scalability.

Ghana’s diaspora engagement strategy

It's important to understand that Ghana adopts a broad and intentional definition of “diaspora”, as outlined in the Diaspora Engagement Strategy 2023. This includes not only Ghanaians who have migrated, but also second- and third-generation descendants, and all persons of African descent with historic and cultural ties to Ghana. This reflects a clear, open-economy approach to attracting the global African diaspora to Ghana, positioning it as the gateway for the diaspora into Africa.

So far, engagements and campaigns have largely been considered successful and consistently reinforce the message that Ghana is open to the diaspora. The government has encouraged members of the diaspora to exercise their legal Right of Abode, which allows people of African descent to enter, reside, and work in Ghana indefinitely without the need for a residence permit.

Identifying policy priorities to mobilise diaspora investment in Ghana

A recent IGC policy and market study on mobilising diaspora capital for Ghana’s growth identified seven key recommendations to further position diaspora investment as a growth engine for the economy. In this post, we outline the most critical recommendations for the ecosystem. These are not intended to be exhaustive or prescriptive, but are proposed as next steps that the Government of Ghana can prioritise to catalyse diaspora investment. 

The study is based on consultations with over 45 leaders across the public and private sectors and development partners in Ghana, and focuses on illustrating the demand for diaspora investment in the country.

Strengthening diaspora investment data and investor targeting

Ghana currently has a diaspora register; however, there is a need to strengthen data collection on diaspora investment and build diaspora investor data profiles. Some efforts are underway to build an evidence base by analysing existing remittance flows and collecting diaspora investment data through the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC). However, robust data and evidence on diaspora investment remain limited.

Strengthening understanding of the ‘supply side’ will better equip not only the government but also the wider ecosystem to harness diaspora investment more effectively. While there is a shallow understanding of who diaspora investors are, which sectors they are interested in, and their willingness and capacity to invest, more and better data can help develop a clearer picture of how to pursue strategic, targeted engagement with more specific groups. This focused and high-impact targeting would complement the broad-based outreach that has already taken place.

Closing the trust deficit gap to unlock overseas investment

Ghana is currently affected by a significant trust deficit, and where trust is scarce, all forms of investment are constrained. Even though many diaspora investors can be considered impact investors with a strong emotional connection to Ghana, they still require credible returns. A lack of trust creates space for their investments to be mismanaged or exploited.

Many members of the diaspora report having been ‘burnt’ in the process of investing, and these negative experiences tend to spread quickly, heightening perceived risks. Often, due to limited knowledge of where and how to invest, emotional commitment overrides sound decision-making, leading to poorly governed and badly structured investments. A key driver of this high ‘burn rate’ has been the reliance on informal middlemen to manage investments. 

The existing formal institutional infrastructure should therefore be positioned as the primary entry point - for example, registering with the GIPC, which has a dedicated diaspora desk mandated to support diaspora investors throughout the investment process. In addition, there is a need to support credible platforms that facilitate diaspora investment and formally handle due diligence, reporting, and transaction processes. 

More broadly, rebuilding public-sector trust is essential. This requires urgent action to address governance failures in key sectors, such as illegal mining, which otherwise risks further eroding confidence and limiting the scalability of investment. Systems of trust must be built so that diaspora investment can evolve from an ad hoc, relationship-driven approach to a more institutionalised, transparent, and rules-based infrastructure. 

Providing the diaspora with reliable information, clarity of process, and strong governance not only holds all actors accountable but also gives investors the confidence they need to commit capital and make repeat investments.

Facilitating diaspora-based partnerships for product development and market access

The value of diaspora capital is not limited to finance. There is broad agreement that the diaspora also brings skills, experience, technical know-how, and an understanding of how to access markets. One of the key challenges investors face is a lack of familiarity with the business operating environment in Ghana. Conversely, local ventures often understand the domestic business environment well but struggle to access international markets. They frequently end up developing products before securing a market, while diaspora investors often know how to access markets but face challenges locally at the product development stage. 

This creates a clear opportunity for win-win collaboration: local ventures can contribute operational and contextual knowledge, while diaspora partners bring expertise on export standards and how to secure reliable offtakers. 

Such partnerships should be intentionally facilitated through formal programmes that match local ventures and diaspora investors, with clearly defined mutual benefits and outcomes.

Managing foreign exchange risk for diaspora investors

Another important consideration when securing such partnerships is the exchange rate risk when investment repayments are made in foreign currency. Although this risk cuts both ways, several mitigation strategies emerged, including prioritising export-related products where offtaker agreements with international buyers are denominated in foreign currency, as well as enabling the Ghanaian diaspora to keep their investments growing in Ghana. 

For example, Ghanaians living abroad can open Non-Resident Ghanaian bank accounts and regular savings accounts remotely with major banks such as Fidelity and Ecobank. Since opening a Ghanaian bank account does not require residence in Ghana, this infrastructure allows repayments to be made in local currency, which can then be reinvested or converted into foreign currency when the exchange rate is more favourable, maintaining the win-win approach in such partnerships.

Scaling diaspora investment for long-term economic development in Ghana

Overall, Ghana continues to set an important precedent for diaspora engagement. As the ecosystem now sharpens its focus on attracting and scaling investment, more work is needed to ensure that activities are both targeted and catalytic. This includes building a stronger data and evidence base, engaging specific niche segments of the diaspora, strengthening institutional harmonisation, closing the trust deficit, promoting diaspora-local venture partnerships, and providing closer support to returning diaspora investors.

The priority is not only to mobilise diaspora investment, but also to ensure that the underlying structures can support its growth and scalability. Achieving this could be a key driver of Ghana's long-term economic development, and will also offer a valuable example for how other African countries can design and implement their own diaspora engagement and investment strategies.