The African Foundation for Development (AFFORD) will in the next four days offer an online capacity-building opportunity for members of the African diaspora to support African SMEs and deploy diaspora resources towards development on the African continent.
This will happen in the form of conducting workshops for African diaspora investors and volunteers that will build their capacity to continue to deliver on their aim of reaching their beneficiaries.
AFFORD, in partnership with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), is implementing an action within the framework of the European Union Global Diaspora Facility (EUDiF) to strengthen the capacity of the diaspora to leverage crowdfunding as a vehicle for MSME financing on the continent.
It is for that reason that the organisation, in a press statement on Monday, called on the African diaspora to take part and build their capacity to continue to deliver this as an offering in partnership with them or directly to their beneficiaries.
“This workshop is one of several components of this action to build crowdfunding financing capacity towards enterprise development on the continent,” said Stella Opuku-Owusu, the Co-executive Director at AFFORD Europe.
The organisation had previously conducted four Training of Trainers (ToTs) and, in other areas of the action, is conducting research (quantitative surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions) to assess the capacity and skills gaps of African diaspora investors and MSMEs in developing online fundraising for enterprises in Africa and to assess the overall impact of this action.
“We have also deployed our crowdfunding for business financing curriculum to train over 30 entrepreneurs in Benin and Ghana,” she added.
In July and August, the participants who successfully complete the training will have the opportunity to be matched with SMEs to launch crowdfunding campaigns.
There are two workshop options (both in English and French) which they can register for, as follows:
Cohort 1:
11 and 12 July, 2023.
10am to 1pm UK time.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/671444006097
Cohort 2:
13 and 14 July, 2023.
10am to 1pm UK time.
