Diaspora For African Development Dfad

Diaspora for African Development (DfAD) is a Zambian Diaspora-led International Development non-profit organisation based in the United Kingdom. DfAD’s aim is to contribute to Africa’s sustainable social and economic development through harnessing the potential of the African Diaspora, with a focus on Zambia and the Southern African region. In particular, DfAD aims to establish “the link” between the Southern African Diaspora Communities in the United Kingdom and those communities in Africa as a nexus between migration and development. The DfAD Vision is for African Diaspora to have greater involvement in Africa’s development and for them to gain wider recognition for the various ways they contribute to Africa’s sustainable social and economic development, in both their countries of origin and destination. DfAD engages African Diaspora, individuals, communities, civil society, private sector and public institutions in collaborative and capacity building efforts that cohesively add to Africa’s development. DfAD operates within four thematic areas: Agriculture, Education, Enterprise and Health. In addition, DfAD uses Diaspora Engagement to find and harness the skills required in these core programmes and also engages in Policy Influencing activities in an attempt to create the enabling environment that will allow the African Diaspora to contribute more effectively. DfAD strongly believes that African Diaspora’s contribution as agents of Africa’s socioeconomic change should not be measured merely in financial terms, but as inputs of skilled labour and by its ability to build bridges between countries of origin and destination, which help stimulate not only economic activity, but also transfers of knowledge and cultural and social norms. The DfAD platform is therefore a tool that enables the African Diaspora to play a role in the development of not just the Southern African Region but the African continent as a whole.