Dele Meiji Fatunla writing in African Arguments:
More hereThe estimated $400 billion in savings of Diaspora Africans is clearly an attractive pool of serviceable investment for African governments, and Diaspora Bonds, offer a way to get hold of it. The attraction for governments is plain enough, but is the temptation worth the risk for their citizens in the diaspora? Like all investors, Diaspora Africans are being asked to take a bet on the future prosperity and stability of their countries of origin. A bet that those in the international market might not make for a variety of reasons; the low returns compared to risk as well as the general problem of political instability. So far, citizens of African countries that have launched diaspora bonds have overwhelmingly voted no with their pockets. Ethiopia launched a diaspora bond, – The Millennium Diaspora Bond – in 2009 to finance the building of a hydroelectric power damn. Take-up of the bonds was low.
Image courtesy of African Arguments
