Opportunity: African capitals are courting diaspora money — and changing the pitch
Nigeria wants US$1bn a month in formal remittances. Ghana is steering diaspora funds toward investment, not just support.
Nigeria’s central bank told its monetary policy committee in March that formal diaspora inflows have roughly tripled to about US$600 million a month and set a target of US$1 billion monthly by the end of 2026, describing remittances as now among the country’s most stable sources of foreign exchange. In Accra, a UN Economic Commission for Africa workshop in late April pressed Ghana to treat diaspora funds — worth 4 to 6 billion dollars a year, near 7% of GDP — as a development tool rather than only household support.
For the diaspora the conversation is shifting from sending money to investing it, with renewed talk of diaspora bonds and asset-backed vehicles across Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya. The caution analysts keep repeating is worth holding onto: weigh stable-currency denomination and credible safeguards before committing capital to any home-market instrument.
Sources: Central Bank of Nigeria via Zawya (March 2026); GBC Ghana (April 25, 2026); The Business & Financial Times (May 19, 2026).