The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, has called on Africans living abroad to move beyond sending remittances and instead become strategic investors in the continent’s economic transformation.

Delivering a speech at the EMY Africa – Africa Rising Symposium in London on Thursday, July 30, Mr Gyamfi said although remittances have played a significant role in supporting African families over the years, the continent now requires long-term investments capable of creating sustainable businesses and jobs.

“For decades, the diaspora has stood by Africa through remittances. Families have been educated, medical bills paid, homes built, and communities sustained because sons and daughters abroad did not forget home. And we must respect that contribution,” he said.

He, however, argued that Africa had reached a point where financial support alone was no longer enough to unlock the continent’s full economic potential.

“But this moment demands more than remittances. It demands investment. Remittances are lifelines but investment builds self-sustaining engines. Remittances help households survive but investment helps economies transform. Remittances can pay school fees but diaspora-driven enterprise can create the companies that employ those graduates after school,” he stated.

Mr Gyamfi said members of the African diaspora must become “strategic co-architects of Africa’s transformation” by investing in sectors including manufacturing, commercial farming, agribusiness, logistics, information technology, green energy, education, healthcare and infrastructure.

According to him, Africa also needs the diaspora’s professional expertise and global exposure to strengthen institutions and improve productivity across the continent.

“When we speak of diaspora investment, we must not limit ourselves to money. Skill is capital. Reputation is capital. Networks are capital. Governance experience is capital. Exposure to efficient systems is capital,” he noted.

He appealed to Africans abroad to contribute more than financial resources by helping build lasting institutions and businesses across the continent.

“My appeal to the global African diaspora therefore is this: do not only send money home; send systems home. Do not only build houses; build enterprises. Do not only sponsor ceremonies; sponsor apprenticeships and entrepreneurship. Do not only remember where you come from; help redesign where we are going,” he urged.

Mr Gyamfi stressed that Africa’s relationship with its diaspora must now evolve into one built on structured investment, innovation and partnerships capable of delivering lasting economic transformation.