AFFORD (African Foundation for Development)
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Introduction
AFFORD, the African Foundation for Development is a not-for profit non-governmental organisation with its main office in London, UK and offices in Belgium and Sierra Leone. Established in 1994, the organisation was founded by Chukwu Emeka Chikezie and Nicholas Atampugre with the aim of expanding African diaspora contributions to African development. Onyekachi Wambu and Stella Opoku Owusu are the current executive director and deputy director respectively.
Mission
AFFORD's mission is to “expand and enhance the contribution that Africans in the diaspora make to Africa's development. AFFORD is African-led, we recognise and celebrate the full diversity of African peoples in our work and we also work with non-Africans in seeking to fulfil our mission.”[1] This mission is operationalised through engagement with four key strands of work.
1. Enterprise and Employment:
2. Diaspora Remittances and Investment
3. Diaspora Engagement and Capacity
4. Action-Research, Policy and Practice: AFFORD works with governments to develop policies, structures and systems that facilitate optimum contributions from their Diasporas . From 2015 – 2020 AFFORD acted as the secretariat for the All-Parliamentary Group on Diaspora, Development and Migration[2]. Since its launch in 2021 AFFORD is part of the All-Parliamentary Group on Afrikan Reparations [3][4]. AFFORD has also contributed to parliamentary discussions on the migration-development nexus [5]
Selected work, projects & campaigns
A selection of AFFORD’s work and campaigns include:
1. Diaspora Volunteering Programme (SEEDA) (2005 – 2011) In 2005, the Supporting Entrepreneurs and Enterprise Development in Africa (SEEDA) project began. Through SEEDA, diaspora ‘resource persons’ support the small and medium enterprises sector in Africa. From 2006 onwards SEEDA was supported by the organisation Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) as part of the Diaspora Volunteering Initiative.[6]
2. The AFFORD Business Centre (ABC) (2011 - present) The AFFORD Business Centre (ABC) was set up in 2011 and is a Comic Relief funded social enterprise supporting fast-growth small and medium-sized enterprises. The ABC project was initially conducted in Sierra Leone, but has more recently expanded to Benin and wider West Africa.[7]
3. Migration and Development West Africa (MADE) (2017 – 2020) MADE West Africa was launched by AFFORD (African Foundation for Development), the Centre for Migration Studies (University of Ghana), the FORIM (Forum of International Organizations of Migration Issues), and ICMC Europe (International Catholic Migration Commission). MADE West Africa’s general objective was to promote good governance of migration and mobility, as well as the protection of the rights of migrants in the ECOWAS region, in order to increase the benefits of migration and mobility on development in six pilot countries (Ghana, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Togo, Guinea).[8]
4. DEMAC (2015 - 2020) . AFFORD worked with the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and the Berghof Foundation to establish the DEMAC (Diaspora Emergency Action & Co-ordination) initiative that works for a deeper understanding of diasporas as humanitarian actors and strive for better coordination between diaspora organisations and the humanitarian system.[9]
5. Return of the Icons (2019 – present) Through its Return of the Icons programme AFFORD is working with museum professionals and experts in the UK and Africa, and members of the diaspora, to explore what these artefacts mean to these communities, especially young people. Through research, community engagement and public campaigns, this project is working to develop frameworks for the return of these African icons and build mutually productive partnerships between museums and other cultural institutions in the UK and Africa.[10]
Partnerships, collaborations & funders
AFFORD has worked with:
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC)
International Organisation for Migration (IOM)
National Lottery Community Fund
References[edit]
- ↑ "House of Commons - International Development - Written Evidence".
- ↑ "House of Commons - Register Of All-Party Parliamentary Groups as at 5 November 2019: Diasporas, Development and Migration".
- ↑ https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/230405/afrikan-reparations.htm
- ↑ "APPG – Afrikan Reparations webinar 20th April 2022". YouTube.
- ↑ https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmintdev/79/79.pdf
- ↑ https://forum-ids.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/20843566-VSO-VSO%E2%80%99s-Diaspora-Volunteering-Initiative.pdf
- ↑ "DevTracker Programme GB-CHC-326568-110819". devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk.
- ↑ "Diaspora and migrants in development | MADE Network". www.madenetwork.org.
- ↑ "About DEMAC". DEMAC.
- ↑ "Current Research on African Restitution". www.prm.ox.ac.uk.
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