Lawrence Nicholson | Leveraging the diaspora beyond remittances

A county’s diaspora plays an important role in forming a bridge between home and host countries.

The traditional role of diasporas is multifaceted, including being economic contributors, as advocates for different issues and cultural ambassadors. Remittances, investments, and entrepreneurship are the top three areas mentioned in most discussions on the Caribbean diaspora.

A ‘quick and dirty’ survey among Jamaicans living in Kingston and St Andrew revealed that up to 80 per cent of them consider remittances to be the only significant contribution from the diaspora. This might help to explain the ‘end-time is near’ reaction by many to the recently announced one per cent tax to be levied on remittances from the United States.

Should this be the response to a possible disruption in the flow of remittances, or should this be an opportunity to activate the entrepreneurial spirit among many in Jamaica and in the diaspora?

The feedback from two lectures delivered on July 13 and 17 to members of the Caribbean diaspora in Florida points to the readiness to embrace the latter. This is good news, given recent developments in the United States, and which could be copied by other countries from which Jamaica receives remittances.

The time might be right for members in the diaspora to redirect their financial resources to help in the creation and development of family-owned businesses, FOBs, in Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean.

An invitation was extended to me by the office of the Consul General of Jamaica for Florida, to deliver a lecture on July 17 in the Consul General’s Distinguished Lecture Series. Grasping the opportunity to engage an additional audience, arrangements were made to deliver another lecture on July 13, hosted by Faith Place Church.

The topic of the July 13 lecture was ‘Building Financial Legacy Through Family-Owned Businesses’, while that for the July 17 lecture was ‘Building Wealth That Lasts: Family-Owned Businesses and the Caribbean Legacy’. Both lectures elicited a high level of engagement, insightful and positive feedback, and a willingness to embrace the tenets of FOBs.

The July 17 lecture was held at the Island SPACE Caribbean Museum, in Broward County, Fort Lauderdale. The lecture covered a wide range of factors that affect the building of financial legacy among people in the Caribbean. The lecture challenged members of the Caribbean Diaspora to be more active in facilitating a ‘teaching to fish’ approach instead of the ‘giving a fish’. The latter approach has been facilitated predominantly through remittances.

The lecture posited that FOBs, or family-owned businesses, provide an accessible and viable avenue to channel the teach-to-fish paradigm. The areas delineated in the ensuing paragraphs were among those that resonated with attendees.

Strategic approach to remittances

Remittances continue to represent a critical place in the economic development of many countries, including the Caribbean. The false notion that only developing and so-called poor third-world countries benefit from remittances needs to be debunked.

It seemed to be a little-known fact that India, Mexico, and China are among the top five countries receiving remittances.

In 2024, India had the highest level of remittances, US$129.1 billion, in the world. This was more than 80 per cent of the US$161 billion of remittances to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Jamaica received US$3.4 billion of this total, representing about 17 per cent of the country’s GDP.

A high percentage of the remittances to Jamaica is used to meet expenses for food and utilities, back-to-school obligations, and to support families.

The lecture highlighted the need for people in the Caribbean diaspora to be deliberate, intentional, and strategic in the distribution and use of remittances. It was pointed out that the changing attitude in the United States is not sympathetic to remittances, therefore a paradigm shift is needed for a more value-added outcome from remittances.

Facilitating a paradigm shift can take different forms. For example, instead of a family in the diaspora sending US$1,000 each month to family members in Jamaica to support recurrent expenses, an investment component could be tied to this amount. The family in Jamaica could be required to start a business – informed by an approved business plan – where a fraction of the monthly US$1,000 is used to help in the capitalisation of the business.

A goal of this approach is to wean the family members of a dependency syndrome, on the road to becoming self-sufficient.

Antecedent of Caribbean FOBs

FOBs in the Caribbean had its genesis among the enslaved, evidenced in the farmers’ market, where businesses were mostly on Sundays. This formed an important part of the legacy of people in the Caribbean.

An unfortunate outcome is that many people of African ancestry have developed a subsistence-like business orientation. Many started businesses not for wealth creation, but for other reasons, such as taking care of the immediate needs of their family and to ‘take their children through school’.

The time has come when people of the Caribbean, while embracing our history, must work to leave a legacy of wealth creation through FOBs. This is important because the data shows that those who are counted among the wealthy form the core of those who sit at the table where critical decisions are made.

It is time for more people of the Caribbean to be at the table where decisions that affect their lives are made. It is not the norm to be at the table without having wealth.

The lecture posited that FOBs represent a viable avenue through which a legacy of wealth creation can be achieved. Many members in the Caribbean diaspora have the scope of influence and the resources to widen the avenue for wealth creation through FOBs.

Education prejudices

The history of prejudice against business continues to plague the education system in the Caribbean. There are stories of teachers, wittingly and unwittingly, discouraging students who are deemed to be ‘bright’ from pursuing their desire and dream of starting and operating their own businesses. Instead, they are encouraged to pursue career paths such as medicine, law, engineering, and other traditional career areas.

This is based on the false notion that it is inconsistent for ‘bright’ students to pursue a career path in business or entrepreneurship, since ‘businesses can be run by anyone, and does not require exposure to higher education’.

From the ensuing discussions, it was agreed that members of the diaspora can dedicate a fraction of what is budgeted for remittances and investments to offering scholarships in areas that encourage the development of a culture of entrepreneurship among students.

Remittances from the diaspora represent about 17 per cent of Jamaica’s GDP. This means that members of the diaspora wield a measure of influence on the country’s development. This impact can be expanded with a shift from the approach of ‘giving-a-fish’ to that of ‘teaching-to-fish’. Members of the diaspora are in pole position to facilitate this paradigm shift, and FOBs are low-hanging fruits through which this can be achieved.

The call is out for all conscientious and well-thinking members of the diaspora to come on board in helping to create and develop FOBs as part of their investment in Jamaica. Let’s join in creating and leaving lasting wealth through FOBs.

More anon!

Lawrence Nicholson, PhD, is a senior lecturer at the Mona School of Business & Management, University of the West Indies, author of Understanding the Caribbean Enterprise: Insights from MSMEs and Family-Owned Businesses and a former director of the RJRGLEANER Communications Group.

lawrence.n.08@gmail.com