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Mapping of Diaspora Direct Investment: Critical Areas of Investment

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Book cover African Diaspora Direct Investment

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies of Entrepreneurship in Africa ((PSEA))

Abstract

It is claimed that remittances from immigrant diasporas substantially enhance entrepreneurial business activity in developing countries. In particular, evidence points to Africans in diaspora actively engaging in diverse entrepreneurial investments. However, the neoliberal view places greater emphasis on quantifying related macro-economic impact of such investments. Focusing on Zambian diasporas in the UK, we explore from a transnational perspective the individual investment choices diasporas make with regard to specific industry or sector preferences and typology of businesses. We find that social cultural factors, local institutions still condition their disposition to invest in country of origin (COO), but diasporas are more inclined to make investments in safer sectors and easier to manage businesses than in more innovating and job-creating businesses.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    There is no widely accepted definition of ‘diaspora ’ and the term can command multiple realities. Agunias and Newland (2012) note, the term can also be used to signify many different phenomena. Nonetheless, in this chapter we follow Agunias and Newland’s broad use of the term as referring to ‘emigrants and their descendants who live outside the country of their birth or ancestry, either on a temporary or permanent basis, yet still maintain effective and material ties to their coo’.

  2. 2.

    Remittances are defined as the private money transfers by the migrants residing abroad for more than a year to their home countries (Tansel and Yaşar 2010: 132).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

    Juliana Siwale

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  1. Juliana Siwale
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Correspondence to Juliana Siwale .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Lincoln International Business School, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, United Kingdom

    Dieu Hack-Polay

  2. Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom

    Juliana Siwale

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Siwale, J. (2018). Mapping of Diaspora Direct Investment: Critical Areas of Investment. In: Hack-Polay, D., Siwale, J. (eds) African Diaspora Direct Investment. Palgrave Studies of Entrepreneurship in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72047-0_4

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