Panel 99: Transnational Relationships, Development and Local Businesses

Over the last decades the transfer of remittances from African migrants to their relatives left behind has come to play an increasingly important role for development. The flow of remittances is supplemented by an exchange of ideas, services and skills between migrants and non-migrants. Of particular importance are diaspora contributions to the establishment of new small-scale business activities in countries of origin. Some of these businesses are set up by return migrants, others are financed by remittances. Sometimes the migrants’ involvement and their experiences facilitate the establishment of new entrepreneurial activities or a professionalization of an already ongoing business. In other cases, remittances are used for investment in activities that are less promising, for example because of market saturation. This workshop is particularly interested in papers that discuss how the transnational flow of money, ideas and people may contribute to the establishment of new business opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa. We welcome papers that look into the relation between transnational resource flows, development and local business from the perspective of both the migrants and the non-migrants. This includes diaspora organizations contributions to the establishment of businesses. Another topic which relate to this is the role of business-oriented remittances in the context of peace-building and reconstruction. The workshop has a comparative ambition; hence the papers will cover a wide range of economic, political and social contexts.