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Chapter 4: Diaspora High Achievers Supporting Institutional Development in Sub-Saharan Africa
This chapter focuses on the role of African diaspora high achievers in contributing to institutional development in their home countries over time. The discourse on African diasporas often focuses either on how diaspora members’ talent is lacking back home or how much their remittances and charities could fill the development finance gap. Yet this chapter examines how the African diaspora has helped to shape institutions in their home countries. The involvement of diaspora high achievers in shaping both public and private institutions is nothing new, and has taken place over three phases since the waves of African countries’ independence. However, most recently the process has been characterized by more efficient communication and increased business opportunities in Africa, allowing the highly skilled to strengthen their impact, especially with respect to building economic institutions.