Three governments told the diaspora the same thing this week: stop just sending, start investing
Ghana, Jamaica and St Kitts are all courting diaspora capital for projects, not just groceries — a coordinated pivot you can take advantage of, or ignore at your cost.
A pattern hardened this week. In London, Ghana’s government — with President Mahama touring the UK and Ireland — urged its diaspora to channel a record US$7.8bn in annual remittances into productive, export-led investment, and floated gold-backed tokenised products aimed at retail and diaspora investors. In Atlanta and ahead of its 14–18 June conference, Jamaica’s envoys pressed the same message: remittances remain vital but are “no longer sufficient” to drive growth. And St Kitts & Nevis will host the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum in July, with Afreximbank raising its CARICOM facility from US$3bn to US$5bn.
The subtext is uniform: governments want diaspora money to build things — businesses, infrastructure, instruments — not just cover household bills.
What this means for you: The pitch is real, but so is the due-diligence burden. Treat a “diaspora bond” or “tokenised gold” product like any other investment: ask about returns, liquidity, who holds your money, and what happens if you need it back. Enthusiasm is not a prospectus.