DMAG are getting ready for GFRID 2023!

DMAG are heading to the Global Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development (GFRID) in Nairobi

The team at DMAG are getting ready to head to Nairobi, Kenya for the GFRID, an event that brings together stakeholders working on remittances and migration for development. 

From 14th to 16th June (the International Day of Family Remittances), the forum will host a series of panels and networking opportunities with around 500 delegates. The forum hosts representatives from the public sector, private sector, UN organisations and civil society from Africa and globally.  

GFRID provides the space for us all to share our understanding of migrant and diaspora contributions to development, the impact these have on national and global policies, and market opportunities for services providers in both remittance and investment environments. 

DMAG are delighted to be involved in a number of panels throughout the event:

CEO and founder Leon Isaacs will be moderating a panel on ‘remittances and diaspora investment: key socio-economic forces in Africa’. The panel will focus on the importance of data; the use of data for policy impact and coherence; and investment and strategic decisions in the remittance and investment sectors. Leon will be moderating Professor Robert Mudida from the Central Bank of Kenya, Angelo Cicogna from the Bank of Italy and Veronica Studsgaard from IAMTN. Sure to be an interesting discussion. 

Omolayo Oyudo, our gender specialist and research manager, will be moderating a session on ‘investing in the future of Africa: what diaspora wants’. Looking at topics such as Know Your Diaspora (KYC); matching investment capabilities; and discussing whether the diaspora are mainstream investors or a class of their own. Joining Omolayo on the panel will be Lee Sorensen who is the EU Support to Policy Dialogue on Investment Climate in Somalia as well as running his own consulting firm, Stella Opoku-Owusu from AFFORD, Halimatou Nimaga from Union des Ambassadeurs in Mali, and Yussuf Reja from InfoMind Solutions.

Francine Dove, a senior researcher at DMAG, will also be moderating a panel, focusing on the topic of ‘linking financial services to remittances in Ghana and Uganda’. The discussion will focus on banking remittance families, bundling digital financial services and fintechs for rural markets penetration.  Francine will be joined by Julius Kakeeto from PostBank Uganda, Jacob Aboagye from Ecobank Group, Nika Naghavi from MFS Africa and Godwin Kafui Agozie from Fidelity Bank. 

As a team, we are really looking forward to engaging with you, so we can all share practical mechanisms and models to reach the sustainable development goals, and ultimately positively contribute to affordable, efficient and safe routes for people to send money to their loved ones, as well as broadening opportunities for migrants to be a part of developing the future of their home country.

It’s not too late to register here! GFRID will be a fantastic opportunity for you to be able to discuss these important issues face-to-face with colleagues. 

Look forward to seeing you there.