The SDE4R project, implemented by the International Organization for Migration in Madagascar (IOM Madagascar), is funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Madagascar (MAE) and the African Union (AU). It focuses on productive investment, entrepreneurship and skills sharing of the diaspora, while identifying the most effective methods to mobilize its human and financial capital.
The project is part of the multi-country project entitled “Leveraging Diaspora Engagement to Catalyze Private Investment and Entrepreneurship for Enhanced Resilience (SDE4R)” aimed at enhancing private sector development, economic growth and social and climate resilience, through the diaspora, in the eight African states in transition: Gambia, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, Togo and Zimbabwe.
To ensure a sustainable engagement of the Diaspora, it is essential to understand its motivations, to propose appropriate support and to set up transparent and reliable economic mechanisms. The Government, technical and financial partners, as well as the private sector, play a central role in transforming this relationship into a lever for development.
MOBILIZATION OF THE MALAGASY DIASPORA
The Malagasy diaspora is distinguished by its capacity for integration, its high level of qualification, its entrepreneurial dynamism and especially its very active youth. Thus, they represent a real potential for the development of Madagascar: a social, human, cultural and especially an economic capital. According to the latest official statistics, Madagascar has more than 250,000 members of the Malagasy diaspora around the world, and this number continues to grow.
The National Policy Letter for the Engagement of the Diaspora (LPNED), adopted by the Government of Madagascar on February 17, 2021, sets a vision for 2030 to strengthen the ties between the State and the Malagasy Diaspora. It aims to: integrate the needs and aspirations of Malagasy abroad, to establish a mutually beneficial relationship between the Malagasy State and the diaspora – which takes into account the needs and aspirations of Malagasy abroad and promotes their involvement in the sustainable development of the country.
The SDE4R Madagascar project aims to support the operationalization of this policy.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The project aims to mobilize the Malagasy Diaspora in:
• Strengthening social resilience
• The creation of a network of exchanges and support
• Stimulating local economic growth
PROJECT BENEFICIARIES
Direct beneficiaries
By providing employment and financial services, the project aims to benefit nearly 50,000 people from affected communities in target countries, including: women, children, vulnerable groups (refugees, internally displaced persons, rural populations, etc.) and those who live in climate change hot spots.
This includes 10,000 direct beneficiaries (50% women and 40% women) and 40,000 indirect beneficiaries.
Indirect beneficiaries
The indirect beneficiaries of the project are as follows:
• Private sector stakeholders such as enterprises, business incubators and other MSME support agencies, as well as financial institutions.
• NGOs and civil society organizations in beneficiary countries that work with vulnerable groups to offer alternatives to irregular migraine.
