Reports

As part of the Remittances Grant Facility, the SECO commissioned and funded research into the Ghanaian remittances market to better understand market dynamics, to develop effective tools to improve the operating environment for remittance service providers, including winners of the RGF, and to encourage growth in and usage of formal remittances channels by the Ghanaian diaspora sending funds to their family and friends.

The study is public good research for the benefit of all stakeholders in Ghana’s remittance market and commenced in June 2019.

This report constitutes a rapid assessment of how COVID-19 has affected labour mobility and broader migration trends in the Pacific region, examining the perspectives of government officials, migrants awaiting departure in countries of origin, migrants (seasonal workers and temporary migrants) in destination countries, diaspora communities, and development partners. Countries covered under the assessment include Fiji, Marshall Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, in addition to Australia, New Zealand and the United States as countries of destination.

With its goal to reduce costs and scale formal flows, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and its Africa-based partner, FSD Africa, are interested in exploring whether there are ways of accelerating the migration of remittance senders from cash to digital channels. Key to this is understanding the reasons behind a preference for cash, the main motivators for change, any barriers that exist and lessons for digital service providers. To seek answers to these questions, in 2017 DMA conducted eight focus groups discussions (FGDs) across seven African communities based in London.

Encouragingly, the focus group discussion suggest that the trend to shift from the cash/agent model to online money transfer services from the UK to Africa is already underway, especially within certain African diaspora communities, with the findings providing key insights into drivers and triggers for behavioural change and a blueprint to follow. 

Diaspora engagement is a key tool to support and strengthen efforts of mobilising the diaspora and effectively harnessing their power for development. It is also a strategic priority for the African Union (AU). In this project, DMA Global developed a diaspora engagement self-assessment tool for AU Member States to determine their level of diaspora engagement. The tool is to be adopted by the diaspora focal points of AU Member States. This report provides an overview of the project, methodologies for scoring and weighing, and highlights the results from the 11 AU Member States that took part in the pilot. 

The KNOMAD Working Paper Series disseminates work in progress under the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD). A global hub of knowledge and policy expertise on migration and development, KNOMAD aims to create and synthesize multidisciplinary knowledge and evidence; generate a menu of policy options for migration policy makers; and provide technical assistance and capacity building for pilot projects, evaluation of policies, and data collection.

DFID recognizes the importance of remittances to developing countries, in particular for those in poverty. It recognizes that remittances may finance food, housing, health and education and also sometimes investments. The UK is keen that remittance costs are low and remittance channels also need to be secure and legitimate. For this, an open and competitive market of reliable players and participation of both banks and money transfer operators is essential as is clear information and rights for remitters. DFID supports work both in the UK but in particular abroad both on regulation and with the market players.

According to the World Bank, global remittances in 20172 totaled USD 595.7 billion, 75.6 percent of which ($450.1 billion) correspond with remittance flows to low- and middle–income countries. This volume marks an increase of more than 50 percent since 2007, and crossborder remittances now account for more than five percent of GDP for 47 developing countries.