The Kenyan diaspora community is exploring ways in which the government could bolster diaspora remittances and investment opportunities in the country, chairman of the Kenya Diaspora Alliance Dr Shem Ochuodho has announced.
Dr Ochuodho who exuded confidence in the Kenya Kwanza regime’s creation of a diaspora portfolio said that they are set to engage the government on new investment opportunities and how to create jobs for Kenyans who are at home and abroad as
He said that Kenyans living abroad have organized the annual diaspora homecoming convention set to take place on the 7th to 9th of December 2022 at Ole Sereni Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya.
Through an upcoming investment conference, Dr Ochuodho explained they were championing a mind shift from the negative African narrative and advocating for respect, building business partnership on a win-win basis and bringing back Africa into their rightful place in geopolitics and international trade.
“We are focusing on a cordial working relationship between the new government and Kenyans in diaspora because there are numerous investment opportunities that are yet to be tapped,” Dr Ochuodho added.
Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Alfred Mutua is expected to engage with Kenyans living abroad in the convention to deepen the ministry’s relationship with the diaspora, as many have over the last decades felt alienated from the Foreign Affairs ministry. Other government officials are also expected to be in attendance.
This year’s convention dubbed Kenya Diaspora Alliance Homecoming is set around the Theme: Inclusive Growth – Leveraging Diaspora Resources.
The Convention brings together the largest assembly of diaspora, business leaders, opinion shapers, government representatives, industry and academia.
There will be several sessions spread across the three days. The sessions seek to deepen conversations around Smart and Secure Investments, Project Finance, Trade Finance, Diaspora Cooperatives, Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), Rural and Cottage Industries, ‘Mama Mboga’ Diaspora Fund, Creative Industries, Agribusiness, Green Energy, IT-enabled services (ITES), Affordable Housing, Climate Smart Fund, Health and Covid-19 Interventions, Traditional Foods and Medicines, and Emerging Opportunities like The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Blue Economy, Natural Resource Management among others.
By Joseph Ng’ang’a
