The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Abuja Investments Company Limited (AICL), Her Excellency, Ambassador Maureen Tamuno, has called for stronger partnerships between Africa and its diaspora to accelerate investment, facilitate skills transfer, create jobs and promote sustainable economic development across the continent.
Tamuno made the call on Thursday while delivering the keynote address at the seventh Diaspora Africa Conference, held at the Afreximbank Africa Trade Centre, Abuja, under the theme, ‘Homecoming: Bridging the Divide from Diaspora to Africa’s Future’.
She said homecoming should go beyond reconnecting with ancestral roots to building lasting relationships through productive investments, knowledge exchange, enterprise development and initiatives capable of improving livelihoods.
Drawing on her experience as Nigeria’s former High Commissioner to Jamaica, with concurrent accreditation to Haiti, Belize and the Dominican Republic, Tamuno stressed that diaspora engagement should extend beyond financial remittances to include professional expertise, international networks, entrepreneurship and technology transfer.
She identified trust, capital, skills, identity and policy as five critical bridges required to strengthen collaboration between Africans at home and abroad.
According to her, transparency, accountability and reliable institutions are essential to attracting diaspora investments. She urged governments to make investment information accessible, digitise public systems and ensure that transactions are transparent and independently verifiable.
“Patriotism should inspire an investment; it must never replace due diligence. Shared ancestry does not guarantee financial return,” she said, advocating structured investments backed by clear agreements, proper documentation and effective accountability mechanisms.
The AICL chief executive highlighted investment opportunities across the company’s portfolio, including real estate, markets, public infrastructure, transportation, entertainment and the creative economy. She invited diaspora entrepreneurs, investors and institutions to explore mutually beneficial partnerships with AICL to unlock opportunities within the Federal Capital Territory.
She also advocated a shift from the traditional emphasis on remittances for consumption towards structured investments that generate financial returns while delivering social and economic benefits.
Tamuno called for stronger collaboration in professional training, research, technology and enterprise development, noting that diaspora professionals could contribute through mentoring, knowledge exchange and partnerships without necessarily relocating permanently to Nigeria.
She further stressed the importance of including women, young people and persons with disabilities in investment opportunities, leadership, technical training and enterprise ownership, saying Africa’s development must provide inclusive opportunities for all.
To translate the conference’s resolutions into measurable outcomes, Tamuno proposed a Homecoming Partnership Compact to track progress over the next 12 months. The proposed framework would monitor partnerships established, enterprises supported, people trained and jobs sustained.
She said the success of diaspora engagement should be measured not by announcements and promises alone, but by functioning businesses, responsible investments and tangible improvements in people’s lives.
Tamuno urged Africans at home and abroad to embrace shared responsibility in building a prosperous continent, stressing that trust, mutual respect and sustained collaboration were essential to creating an Africa that future generations would be proud to call home.
“Let this seventh edition mark a movement from recognition to relationship, from relationship to responsibility, and from responsibility to results.We cannot undo the journeys that divided us. But we can choose the partnerships that shape our future.” she added.