Come back home and build - Experts urge Ghanaians abroad to turn brain drain into brain gain

Stakeholders have called for a paradigm shift in the country’s approach to migration and talent return, urging Ghanaians abroad to return home and contribute to national development.

Dr Joseph Darmoe, a Senior Lecturer at GIMPA and KAS Ghana’s Programme Director, speaking at a Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Ghana breakfast meeting emphasised the need for Ghana and other African countries to transform brain drain into brain circulation.

“To transform brain drains into an opportunity for growth, Ghana and Africa should implement strategic policies that harness brain circulation for innovation, economic progress and sustainable development,” Dr Darmoe said.

He noted that return migration decisions are complex and often influenced by personal aspirations, family considerations, economic circumstances and existing policy regimes in both host and home countries.

“What is common from this body of scholarship,” he explained, “is that return migration decision-making is a complex process, moderated by individuals, households, and macro-factors.”

Cybersecurity expert Kwame Oduro Numapau echoed the call for returnees to use their global exposure to drive Africa’s technological advancement.

“Come back home and let’s build,” he urged.

He highlighted Africa’s youthful population and digital potential as key assets for the continent’s future competitiveness.

“Africa leads in terms of youthful population. The youth understand technology more than any other generation,” Numapau said.

“Technology is pushing everything AI is coming into play right now and it’s going to impact every sector of our lives.”

Numapau revealed that his team has been leveraging local resources in Ghana and the US to build drones and robots using artificial intelligence to enhance public safety and security.

Lawrencia Akosua Pomaa, Programme Manager at KAS Ghana, pointed to a major gap in the country’s ability to manage return migration effectively the absence of comprehensive data on returnees.

“We don’t even know how many people have come back, where they have come back from, what they did abroad or what they can bring to this country,” Pomaa lamented.

She stressed the need for a national database to track returnees’ skills, experiences and potential contributions.

KAS Country Director Anna-Lena Sabroso-Wasserfall and Professor Isaac Owusu-Mensah, a Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, also addressed the gathering, emphasising that effective governance and institutional coordination are critical for maximizing the benefits of brain gain.

The event, held under the theme “Coming Home: Brain Gain or Frustration?”, explored the opportunities and challenges facing returnees and the policies needed to transform migration into a driver of growth.

AM

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