MAKING OVER LAGOS - EKO ATLANTIC
In his epic 1976 anthem "Go Slow," Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti described the traffic in his hometown of Lagos, casting it as a metaphor for Nigeria's spiritual standstill. "Then your head start to ache because car crush they for your head," he sang. "Lorry they for your front, tipper they for your back, motorcycle they for your left, taxi-moto they for your right."

It's a far cry from this vision of the city put forth by the developers of a new seafront business and residential district for Lagos called Eko Atlantic: "It will be a masterpiece of urban planning ... with its wide boulevards [and] tree-lined avenues with views over the marina and waterway, dynamic waterfront [and] traffic that flows."

If it seems there is a gulf between the two, there is — literally. Eko Atlantic is an artificial island, just offshore, being created entirely from scratch, built of sand dredged from the ocean floor. It will be 7 km wide, extend about 2 km out to sea and house 250,000 residents, with offices for 150,000 commuters. A scale model at the offices of its developers, South Energyx Nigeria, features gin-clear canals, giant malls, three marinas, trams, the island's own power station and a sail-shaped 55-story skyscraper that will be the new headquarters for a Nigerian bank. David Frame, South Energyx Nigeria's managing director, calls Eko Atlantic "the new face of Africa." Onno Ruhl, country head for the World Bank, goes even further, calling it the future Hong Kong of Africa. But plans for Lagos' renovation don't end offshore. Eko Atlantic is the centerpiece of a city redevelopment strategy whose ambition is simple and astonishing: take one of the world's worst cities and make it one of the best. "This is a real attempt to prove Lagos can be an economic powerhouse and a gateway to Africa," declares Frame. Ruhl says, "It's an amazing thing, not least because it actually looks like it will happen."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2026474_2026675_2074274-1,00.html

Funding Development through Diaspora Remittances
Click here for original article - http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/decapua-dev-remittances-20may11-122337514.html
A new initiative was launched this week to spur development with funds from the Diaspora.

The Diaspora Investment in Agriculture [DIA] initiative is co-sponsored by the U.S. State Department and the International Fund for Agricultural Development [IFAD]. The program aims to tap into the hundreds of billions of dollars a year in Diaspora remittances – money sent from foreign workers to their home countries.

The initiative will target Somalia, Angola, Burundi, Ivory Coast, the DRC, Egypt, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Tunisia, as well as Afghanistan and Iraq.

“Last year, over $320 billion was sent to developing countries. That’s more than foreign direct investment or [development assistance] combined. That just gives you an idea of the importance that remittances have,” said Pedro De Vasconcelos, coordinator of IFAD’s remittances program.

The money puts food on the table.
“These are private flows. This is money that migrants send back to their families 10 times, 12 times a year in [amounts] of $200, $300. And this is directly to meet the daily needs of their families. So, the impact that these flows have is very important at all levels,” he said.

These money goes directly to families or relatives and does not pass through any government agency.
DIA
“This idea of the DIA, Diaspora Investment in Agriculture, is related to the phenomenon of remittances because part of those remittances normally remains – 10 to 20 percent – for investment. And besides the remittances they send, it’s been calculated that the Diaspora itself has accumulated savings of $400 billion. There is a willingness to invest back home. Migrants want to do something about the communities they left behind. And this initiative is actually providing what is missing,” said De Vasconcelos.
What’s been missing has been the mechanism to allow easy, direct investment in particular programs in particular countries. The State Department and IFAD said they are providing that mechanism.
“Supporting the migrants associations, supporting the systems that exist right now, so migrants can invest back in their homeland,” he said.
Investments would include the agricultural sector in rural areas in countries considered fragile or affected by conflict.
De Vasconcelos said, “The Diaspora has been the first to respond in trying to reach their loved ones.” But he said they also are interested in long-term investments to create opportunities back home and ‘it actually can create a more stable situation.”
DIA has a country-based approach and is expected to be operational within a few months. Right now, the initiative will first identify programs needing investment with potential investors.

THE SECRETARY'S GLOBAL DIASPORA FORUM

Washington D.C  - May 17 - 19 2011

Diaspora, Diplomacy and Development

The Secretary of State’s Office of Global Partnerships, in collaboration with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), is organizing an action-oriented Global Diaspora Forum.


The goal is to:

•Recognize and celebrate the contribution of diaspora communities to America’s relationship with their countries of origin or ancestry;

•Foster diaspora-centric partnership models;

•Encourage intra-diaspora collaboration and learning.

The Forum will take place over three days (May 17 - 19). While Forum attendance is by invitation, every effort is being made to deploy social media and online tools to make the Forum accessible to as wide an audience as possible. Follow the Secretary’s Global Diaspora Forum online via Twitter @DiasporaAtState and using #diaspora. You can also watch a live videostream of the Forum’s opening events on this page.

62 Million: Number of first- and second-generation diasporas in America; almost all Americans have immigrant roots further back.


$48 Billion: Amount of recorded remittances sent from the United States by diaspora communities in 2009.

#1: America ranks first as a host of the largest number of international migrants in the world.

Through the m:lab, growth-oriented start-up enterprises in the mobile applications space have a chance to access a set of focused and inter-related business and capacity development services, designed to help them grow and compete effectively in the global market.

Young companies are particularly vulnerable during the start-up phase of operations. This vulnerability is especially pronounced in emerging markets where critical services are scarce or prohibitively expensive. m:lab's business incubation offering is for start-up firms with a mobile technology focus, specifically mobile applications. m:lab's incubation program is designed to accelerate successful development of mobile application entrepreneurs through an array of business support resources and services which include :-


•Privileged access to market research information and knowledge repositories

•Linkages with financiers for seed capital and venture capital

•Facilitated access to markets, deals and contracts

•Assistance with monetizing mobile applications

•Assistance with intellectual property and patent management

•Business management advisory services

•Business mentoring, coaching and assistance

•Networking and community building events

•Application testing and quality assurance

•Internet and data connectivity facilities

•Subsidized office space

Successful outcomes of m:lab's incubation program in the long term will be measured by :-

1.The number of firms that graduate from m:lab incubation into strong competitive and sustainable enterprises

2.The number of jobs created in East Africa by m:lab's current and past incubation clients

Considering the above desirable outcomes, the minimum period for incubation is 6 months and the maximum period is 24 months. An overview of the selection criteria for incubation clients can be found here. Currently there are 4 vacant slots for incubation.
For more information go to - http://mlab.co.ke/pages/incubation_proposition.php

The successful Global Xchange youth programme is being enhanced to offer a range of new opportunities as a part of the government’s new International Citizen Service (ICS) Programme.

We are now running two programmes, Youth Xchange and Youth Action, for 18-22 year olds.

Youth Xchange is our longest running programme. It gives 18-22 year olds the chance to spend six months tackling important issues, making an impact overseas as well as back on home soil.

Youth Action is a 12 week project spent working in a community overseas. It gives 18-22 year olds the chance to work on issues that really matter.

For more information go to - http://www.globalxchange.org.uk/pages/default.aspx