Eastern Africa Diaspora Business Council

ABOUT

The Eastern Africa Diaspora Business Council (EADBC) is a US-based non-governmental, membership-based organization. It was established in 2013 to promote the Diaspora’s role in the delivery of technology solutions for development challenges by leveraging trade and investment partnerships between the United States and the greater East African region. EADBC represents professional, institutional, business and student memberships from East African countries and the US - embodying expertise and investments in several key sectors including in ICT, Engineering, Energy, Agriculture, Environment, Education, International Trade and Development, Policy and Health Care.

EADBC engages closely with key industry and intergovernmental agencies to provide a platform for transfer of Diaspora knowledge and skills through consultancy opportunities as well as recruitment of Diaspora to the private sectors.  They provide a medium for Eastern Africans in the Diaspora to build public and private partnerships with entities in the US for synergistic business development opportunities in Africa. EADBC forges strategic partnerships to nurture individual and institutional potential to impact regional economics in East Africa, and to build feasible cooperation and effective forum for discussion on key development issues and activities through core sector platforms and programs.

GOAL

Establish a hub where Eastern Africa Private Sector. US Private Sector and Diaspora can meet, share resources and develop partnerships.

OUR MISSION

The Eastern Africa Diaspora Business Council’s mission is to harness US Diaspora resources to the Eastern Africa region and furnish sustainable economic development, capacity building, and multi-sector partnerships through market-based linkages between US-based corporations and technical expertise, and market opportunities in East Africa.

PROGRAMS:

EADBC and Partner organizations spend a lot of time building capacity and identifying ways they can benefit their members. Below you will find the different EADBC programs that help us achieve our goals.

PARTNERSHIP BUILDING PROGRAM

The Partnership Building Program provides a platform for Eastern Africans in Diaspora to build strategic alliances with entities in the US and East Africa. Public and private partnerships with the Diaspora enhance US business opportunities in a competitive African market through synergistic business ventures. To achieve this goal, EADBC and its partners will host trade and investment forums; facilitate trade missions between government and private sector partners.

The EADBC seeks to continue on the path of nurturing individual and institutional potential to impact regional economics through the CBP platform. The CBP affords more Eastern Africans the opportunity to contribute to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and other key areas. With the help of our strategic partners, we seek to expose Diaspora students to internships and work experience and capacity-building opportunities. This will in turn enable our graduates to return to the region better equipped with important professional and management skills and relevant experience to work in the very competitive multinational corporate environment.

Additionally, EADBC promotes opportunities for showcasing Diaspora entrepreneurship by creating networking opportunities among business leaders and forging strategic institutional partnerships in knowledge-intensive sectors to foster long-term economic growth in Eastern Africa countries.

TRANSFER OF CULTURE, KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNOLOGY

Transfer of Culture, Knowledge, and Technology (TOCKT) aims to increase the transfer of Diaspora knowledge and skills to their countries of origin through consultancy opportunities as well as recruitment of Diaspora to the private sectors.  The program works to achieve this through partnerships with Diaspora organizations and US government agencies, this platform will allow for transfer of Diaspora knowledge and skills to their countries of origin through consultancy opportunities as well as recruitment of Diaspora to the private sectors. The program also supports exchange of best practices through expert meetings and e-consultations.

VOICE ON THE TABLE

Voice on the Table is a program that activates feasible cooperation with key players and affords a medium for discussion on development issues and activities; lobbying, campaigning and advocacy for policies and practices that enhance the Diaspora’s involvement in development.

This platform allows the Diaspora to move beyond insular and individual approaches towards more structured forms of participation in the regions development. EADBC promotes effective networks among Eastern Africa Diaspora organizations and associations in the USA, enabling them to enter into consolidated strategic alliances and initiate joint, transnational development projects.

EADBC has developed the working space for the Eastern Africa Diaspora to engage key players on issues of common interest, liaise with the private and public sector leadership in East Africa and the US, and catalyzing the implementation of trade and commerce policies that promote upward economic mobility.

For more on EADBC and how you can join and benefit from the organizations contacts and programs, sign up for a Tap Speaks (Google Hangout) event with EADBC president Ben Kazora by sending an email to tapspeaks@tapmagonline.com