Diaspora Networks: A New Impetus to Drive Entrepreneurship

Abstract

Henry Ford, established one of the greatest business empires in the world. Henry's innovations revolutionized the way people would use transportation in their daily lives. The effects of his innovations were felt all over the world and, most impor-tantly, in his ancestral home—Ireland. One summer day in 1912, Henry visited Ireland to reconnect with his roots. Conscious of Ireland's low development level Henry felt a strong emotional draw to apply the knowledge and ideas he had accumulated to revitalize the depressed area of Cork, where he traced his family roots. His decision to expand his compa-ny in his homeland was based on his emotional desire to reconnect and contribute to the development of his ancestral land. Henry's story illustrates the significance of a Diaspora bond in global entrepreneurship. 1 This article examines how Diaspora entrepreneurs are uniquely placed to iden-tify market opportunities in their home countries and are able to use this informa-tion to create and invest in new ventures, spurring job creation and economic growth. This article also advocates for a stronger element of Diaspora entrepre-neurship in aiding sustained economic development efforts, and provides sugges-tions on Diaspora engagement policies to utilize this asset effectively. The premise that entrepreneurship will translate directly into high levels of economic growth and lead to innovation is intrinsically tied to Diaspora entrepre-neurship. The phenomenon of Diaspora entrepreneurship has been gaining con-siderable attention because it represents a rich resource that leads to promising prospects for economic growth. Consider the scale of the capital flows in a Diaspora network. In 2010, worldwide remittance flows are estimated to have exceeded $440 billion. Of that amount, developing countries received $325 billion, which represents an increase of 6 percent from the 2009 level. Recorded remit-tances in 2009 were nearly three times the amount of official aid and almost as © 2012 Suren G. Dutia innovations / volume 7, number 1