Nigeria, Egypt, and Morocco emerged as the top recipients of remittances in Africa in 2024, collectively accounting for a significant portion of the continent’s $95 billion inflow from its diaspora, according to the newly released State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report 2025 by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).
The report highlights that remittances have proven to be a more stable source of external funding than foreign direct investment (FDI) or official development assistance (ODA).
“In 2024, Africa received over $95 billion in remittances—an amount comparable to total FDI inflows that year,” the report stated. It further noted that remittances have consistently outperformed FDI in recent years, with the exception of 2024.
While most remittance funds go toward household consumption and social obligations, the report emphasized their untapped potential for structured investment through financial instruments like diaspora bonds.
Several countries, including Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and Ethiopia, have experimented with such bonds—though with varying levels of success.
To unlock greater value from remittance-linked capital, the AFC recommends boosting investor confidence through improved governance, reliable repayment mechanisms, and robust legal protections.
It also suggests mitigating macroeconomic risks like inflation and exchange rate volatility, and offering diaspora-focused instruments with competitive returns—potentially indexed to inflation or issued in stable foreign currencies.
This trend underscores the growing importance of the African diaspora in shaping the continent’s financial resilience and investment landscape.
