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jobs for the diaspora

Jobs In Africa For The Diaspora

NATURAL RESOURCES IN AFRICA AND HOW APPLICATION IN CREATING REVENUES 

Africa by nature is endowed with so many natural resources that, if tapped carefully, can make it one of the wealthiest continents in the world. The continent has many countries that have tons of untapped natural resources waiting to be discovered. From crude oil to natural gas to Uranium, the limits that Africa has reached when it comes to natural resources are monumental. But like every other gold mine, this has to be appropriately managed to create wealth for Africa.  

HOW TO CREATE WEALTH THROUGH NATURAL RESOURCES FOR AFRICA

As mentioned earlier, having natural resources is not a problem for Africa. The real issue comes from converting that rich untapped gold mine into something unique and create wealth for Africa as a whole. 

Research has shown that job opportunities in Africa have centred around Animal Husbandry, Logistics, Food Processing, and Renewable Energy. The problem remains that most Africans are not using these sectors to create better output and revenue. To maximize production in these areas, diaspora Africans would have to consider aiding those areas through an effective process.

 Some of the ways to maximize revenues for Africa through Natural resources include: 

Good and Effective Leadership 

The leadership structure of most African countries has continued to deteriorate in recent times; it has affected the ability of most African countries to reach the potential that they solely deserve. For natural resources to be duly converted into riches, leaders should lead at the front with good decisions that will manage them without corruption. African countries such as Nigeria and Congo have continued to suffer the long after-effects of lousy leadership. 

A situation that Africa as a whole needs to change and fast to turn the continent’s fortunes around. 

Support More Technological Startups in Africa

For the longest time, African countries have continued to import most of their products from Europe and America and has halted their ability to use their natural resources for such innovations. Take Congo, for instance, a country that is rich in Diamonds. Still, its people are impoverished – a visual image of what happens when governments outsource production to other foreign countries outside Africa. 

For more natural resources to be appropriately used, technological startups that can mine and effectively use these resources should be created. Imagine how much an African giant like Nigeria will save in revenues if she can refine her crude oil rather than export them.  This is the kind of technological ingenuity that Africa needs at the moment. It will also create job opportunities for their educated youths. 

No nation provides good revenue without manufacturing its products. Africa as a continent should take a clue from the West in this field. 

Reduce Foreign Intervention

This may seem like the long after-effects of colonialism, but Africa has been reliant on Western influence for the longest time. It’s been a long since too much foreign interest in African affairs has continued to hurt the continent significantly. Most of this is caused by the clamour for their natural resources, and this pushes them to put mechanisms to exploit them while watching the African countries struggle and fight over the crumbs. 

Africa has developed enough to stand on her own if only they get influential leaders with her development and progress in mind. The time is now for Africa to take centre stage in the world, and this doesn’t include influence from foreign parties that cares very little about what happens to her. 

Support Education and Enlightenment of Young minds

The importance of education can never be overemphasized for Africans. Knowing what to do with any particular natural resource will only come naturally if more educated and enlightened youths are brought on board. This is why African countries must continue to fully motivate their youths to embrace the apparent benefits of education. 

Diaspora Africans and the Role they Can Play in the Ever-growing Logistics, Animal Husbandry, Food Processing, and Renewable Energy Sectors

Renewable Energy has been touted as the future of power generation in Africa since most African areas still lack access to light. Africa as a whole is a fertile ground that is good for cultivation. This has seen many African billionaires thriving in Agriculture, making it one of the biggest exports from the continent apart from oil. It is unfortunate that despite the abundant agricultural resources, Africa does not have efficient Food processing plants to process them. 

This is where Diaspora Africans can come in with their ingenuity and exposure from the West. Renewable Energy should be top of the list to create power that will light up remote areas with little to no access to power plants. Africa already has good sunlight for solar-powered electricity. This can be a perfect place to start because every good business requires an adequate power supply. 

The second area is to utilize the massive agricultural investments in Africa to create food processing plants that will provide affordable foods for Africans. It is appalling that in the 21st century, Africa still relies on companies in the West to get foods like beef, tomatoes, groundnut oil, and other food spices that are in abundance in most African farms. Countries like Nigeria have massive animal farms that they can use to process healthy foods that people can eat. The Nigerian situation only goes to prove the number of underutilized resources that are yet to be used. 

The logistics business is another area that Africans in the diaspora should help in establishing. As more people migrate to the big cities, ease of transportation of items is prioritized mostly. This is why the logistics business is prioritized. Unfortunately, logistic companies in existence are either regional or too centralized in one region. This is where African diasporas can come in. With a good knowledge of logistic networks as applicable in the West, Africa can have an excellent logistic network system that can connect through several cities in Africa.   

The establishment of these companies will create many job opportunities for young Africans and be a source through which the resource potential of Africa is manifested to the fullest. 

To Finish Off Briskly 

The passion for African development will continue to be the long-term goal of any African. This is why I believe that for Africa to turn its vast natural resources into riches, it must set effective management for its utilization. Click here for more information on working in Africa

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blacks in africa

Advantanges And Disadvantages Of Diaspora Africans Moving Back To The Homeland

The slave trade has taken a lot of things from Africans as a whole. The loss of generations of capable young men and women created a huge gap that will take light years before Africa can recover. This is a loss that even the migration of diaspora Africans back home cannot replace. But it is important to note that this will be a perfect step in the right direction where it to happen. 

Let us, therefore, examine the advantages and disadvantages that come with Diaspora Africans moving back home. 

THE PROS:

They Will Feel More Welcomed 

Like it or not, the West has continued to be plagued by discrimination cases of people of color. However, the opposite will be the case when these people of African descent return home. They will be made to feel at home as they are in the midst of people who look like them and people who wouldn’t judge them by their skin color or religion and beliefs. This is one of the most incredible benefits of Africans returning home to Africa. 

Positive Influence on Development 

We can agree that the number of diaspora Africans in different fields in the West can rival that of the natives if not overcome them. This displays the level of ingenuity and innovation that African is known for. A move back home will only mean that diaspora Africans will be coming home with a wealth of experience from the countries in the West. 

The majority of these countries in America and Europe are developed and advanced in technology, medicine, engineering, even in handwork and skills. Bringing these levels of experience will be massive for the growth of the African continent to become what its rich resources have meant it to be. 

Political Influence 

Despite the independence of Africa from colonialism, the West continues to have massive control over its political structure due to its rich natural resources. The Congo, for instance, should be one the wealthiest countries in the world, but they lack the resources (both human and equipment) to tap generously from their gold mine. This left them under the control of the greedy West, who continues to milk them dry. 

Now imagine if the African Congolese descendants in several parts of the West return home. They would surely get the necessary human resources to manage their natural resources for their development. 

The Rich Cultural Impact and Dynamism 

The African culture is beautiful in that anyone can be part of it no matter where you come from. So Diaspora Africans moving home will only strengthen their sense of belonging towards their culture, and they can also impact them with the culture they’re used to in the West. This will bring a rich mix that will change Africans’ lives and enlighten and enrichen their culture further. 

THE CONS:

The Change in Environment may be Negative

Despite the majestic strides that have been made in Africa in recent years, she continues to lack some basic amenities. For example, some communities in Africa can still not get access to good drinking water and electricity. The wide gap in the way of living that they’re used to in the West may be much for migrating diaspora Africans to cope with. Even the effectiveness of security may not be as guaranteed as it is in the West.  

This is a massive gap that diasporas may find hard to cope with.

The Cultural Gap

Most African societies still practice certain cultures that the West may consider strange and archaic. Despite the eagerness of some diaspora Africans to belong and practice these cultures, it will test their coping mechanism in ways they have never seen before. This is one of the enormous impediments that may deter many of them from returning home. 

Leadership Structure

Some African societies still very much practice a monarchical system of leadership that might clash with the liberal life of the West. This can impede any diaspora African who has never subjugated to anyone in their life. Moreover, getting used to such a way of living can be shocking for anyone coming back home to Africa. 

To Summarize Briefly 

It’s not ideal for diaspora Africans to be filled with dreamy versions of the motherland without first grasping the implications that such a change will have on them. Coming home is a great deal, but staying home in peace and harmony is the goal. Click here for more information on relocating to Africa.

cash for black people

Slavery Reparations Go Beyond African Americans

West African Descent:

Today, Africans in the diaspora still suffer due to the ill-treatment and slavery they suffered for many years. In 1860, about $3 billion was estimated as the worth of the descendants of African slaves used as free labor and $250 million estimated as the worth of cotton produced by them. All of these would have benefited the people of Africa.

All that suffered due to the injustice done to them have had reparations paid to them except Africans in the diaspora.

Brief History of Slave Trade:

Slave trade existed long before the transatlantic slave trade originated in the 15th century when the Portuguese and other European nations expanded their reach to Africa. Initially, Africans were kidnapped then taken to Europe for slavery; however, the increase in the demand for African labor lead to Africans being sold as slaves to American continents. The majority of the captives were from western African countries like Senegal, Nigeria, and Benin.

In total, about 25 million Africans were sold into captivity. Africa being the only continent affected this way, experienced a significant population decline, leading to the economic challenges still evident today; meanwhile, Europe and other nations were enriched. A Virginia law created in 1662 decreed that “the status of the child followed the status of the mother,” condemning unborn children to a life of slavery.

Reparation for Black People:

Reparation is a system created to pay back the descendants of African slaves for the great injustice done against them. The Durban Conference against Racism held in 2001 advocated that the Western world owed reparation to Africa, and the reparation is for the slave trade, colonialism, and the post-colonial era.

This is because the slave trade, which deprived Africa of adequate human resources and colonization, which caused an uneven tapping of natural resources, led to the unstable economy, political and cultural damage of Africa.

Others subjected to injustice and slavery have received apologies and have been compensated. For example, West Germany agreed to pay 3.45 billion Deutsche Marks to Holocaust survivors in 1952, and Native Americans got lands and dollars in billions for being forcibly exiled from their lands. Africans are the only ones still not paid despite the many opportunities for them to be though they were affected the most.

How Far Slavery Reparations Has Gone:

A bill called H.R. 40 was introduced about 30 years ago by Late John Conyers. Following the 1988 Civil Liberties Act, it was passed, which led to the reparations for Japanese Americans affected by the war. However, this bill did not gain ground till 2019.

The voting carried out by the congressional committee on the 14th of April, 2021, moved the bill forward; therefore, Africans in the diaspora closer to being compensated.

Reparations Black People Deserve:

Great monetary value was placed on Africans and their labor during their slavery; so, it necessary for Africans in the diaspora to be compensated for growing and closing the racial wealth and economic gap. This reparation should be in the form of;

Payment for lost wages and damages:

  • Free tuition or cutback on tuition
  • Grants for businesses and housing
  • Free properties for those who have proof of African slave origin

The reparations should be received by black people who can trace their origin to the people enslaved and those who can prove they were excluded from various policies.

Final Thoughts:

Reparations for descendants of African slaves are long overdue. It is necessary to atone for the suffering the blacks endured centuries ago and are still enduring due to various policies that have made them inferior to others. Their labor helped enrich those that enslaved them, and up until now, they have not been compensated calls for intervention.

Justice needs to be served to Africans in the diaspora, now, not later!! Take the west Africa interactive tour for more info.

african money

Why Africans in Diaspora Should Invest in West Africa

Why West Africa?

Harvard professor and economist Nathan Nunn revealed that the poorest countries in Africa were majorly affected by the slave trade. Years after the exploitation of its resources and workforce, Africa still suffers the consequences. Recall that largest and most popular slave trade was the trans-Atlantic slave trade that affected most parts of West Africa. This has left West Africa the most scarred by the slave trade, and the repercussion is glaring in all sectors, especially the economic sector.

Because West Africa has the highest number of countries of all the regions in Africa, a considerable disruption in its economy or socio-political activities will directly or indirectly affect other African countries. In the same way, massive growth in the economic system of West Africa translates to the development of the majority of African nations, which will invariably impact Africa in general.

It might also be necessary to consider the fact that the majority of Africans now in Diaspora are of West African ancestry, no thanks to the trans-Atlantic slave trade. If charity is to begin at home, as always said, West Africa is a safe place for Diasporans to start investing.

Improving investment Methods:

Although Africans in Diaspora have contributed by various means to the continent’s economy, most of their investments are inclined towards consumption rather than the production factors of the continent. This calls for an adjustment in their investment methods because the aim is to help in developing the economy of the nations, and this can be better achieved by increasing production.

An effective way of increasing production is through diaspora entrepreneurship. This investment tool goes a long way to provide job opportunities for the teeming population of the continent. Also, it is a means to supply products that are of vital importance to the African nation.

One hindrance to diasporans investing within the continent is the information barrier. Some interested investors are discouraged by the lack of proper information to guide their decision. Creating an interactive forum with Africans within the continent can help in bridging the information barrier. Thanks to technology, interacting with people across the globe is almost always a click away.

Conclusion:

Generally, Africans in Diaspora have been investing in the continent. However, there is a need to improve the method of investment to increase productivity which is the primary reason for the investment.

More so, West Africa, which suffered a great deal from the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the effect of which is now evident in its economy, should be a focus area for Africans in Diaspora. This is necessary because West Africa is the most prominent African region, and growth in its economy will impact other African regions as will a drawback.

The Reparation Hub (formely Reparation Hub Inc.) is a not-for-profit association. We offer a new web-based platform which connects the descendants of African enslaved persons with donors and people of good will for the purpose of righting a wrong via our reparation sponsorship program. If you know someone who has received reparations for slavery elsewhere please let us know.