Back in the early 2000’s, 13 million migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were living in other countries around the globe, residing mostly in Europe and the US. But the number (which is bigger than the entire Rwandan population!) grew extensively in the past 20 years. According to the UN’s Global Migration Report, it is now estimated at 46 million people - bigger than Uganda, Angola or Mozambique’s population.

"I wanted a life where I could earn a living and support my mother and siblings,” says Kone Larouba Nza, originally from Cote D' Ivoire, who arrived in France in 2016. "I felt sad that my country did not provide young people like me the promise of a brighter future, and I was determined to take matters into my own hands”.

6 years have passed since the immigration crisis of 2015, when over 1 million people entered Europe in precarious ways, endangering their lives while inducing a political uproar in their destinations. Since then, the big wave settled and became more of a continuous drizzle, one that is expected to increase in the coming decades with climate changes, increasing food insecurity, and growing population. Since 2015, endless funds across the EU have been redirected to migration, both for dealing with the people domestically, and for trying to prevent borders from being penetrated illegally. But when looking at the reasons that initially lead people to leave their home countries, one can only wonder: is there a better way to utilize these vast funds to better deal with this challenge, while also impacting the lives of millions?

Educated, working, and looking for better opportunities

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) report, Scaling Fences: Voices of Irregular African Migrants to Europe, reveals some interesting details that might come as a surprise to many who have fallen to the prejudice that exists surrounding the subject. The report, which interviewed 1,970 migrants from 39 African countries who are currently residing in 13 European nations, all of whom declared that they arrived through irregular means and not for asylum or protection-related reasons, reaches some counter-intuitive conclusions. 

"Ultimately, we all want the same things in life: good health, decent jobs, liberty and freedom to pursue opportunities for our families and ourselves”, says Aziz from Senegal. "And because many people don’t feel they have that in Africa, they come to Europe.’

The report finds that getting a job was not the only motivation to move, and questions the paradigm often surrounding African migrants in the West, as most of the respondents were not ‘poor’ back in Africa, nor had lower education levels. Around 58 per cent were either employed or in school at the time of their departure, with the majority of those working, earning competitive wages in national context, with many reporting jobs that were described as safe and regular. Despite this, just 38 percent said they earned enough ‘to get by’, 50 percent felt they were not earning enough, and only 12 percent reported being able to save. The respondents were also typically educated above the average levels in their home countries, having spent at least three years more in education than their peers.

With this newfound information that can come as a surprise to many EU and US residents who have strong opinions on migration, the following question is imminent: are my country’s efforts to stop illegal migration pointed in the right direction?                                                                       

Since the big crisis of 2015, when countless boats arrived at the coasts of Greece and Italy, the EU has increased its migration-related spending by billions, and the overall budget is about to be quadrupled under the new 2021-2027 plan. Recently, the European Commission proposed a total of EUR 40.62 billion for migration and asylum programmes, presenting a 441% monetary value increase compared to its 2014-2020 budget. This increase is mainly directed towards strengthening security, as approximately 75% of the budget would be allocated to border management and the externalisation of controls. But what if instead of quadrupling the budget on security, funds would go to treat some of the initial causes that drive people away?

"Scaling Fences highlights that migration is a reverberation of development progress across Africa, albeit progress that is uneven and not fast enough to meet people’s aspirations”, said Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator. "Barriers to opportunity, or ‘choice-lessness’, emerge from this study as critical factors informing the calculation of these young people.” 

Investing in local development, instead of restricting the people who are seeking it

As mentioned in my last week’s article, Africa’s annual infrastructure financing gap stands at $108 billion dollars. That could drastically change with the right investment from the EU, if a focus shift would happen to take place.

According to the World Bank, it currently costs about EUR 81 to connect a household in sub-Saharan Africa to an off-grid solar home system that provides electricity. With 100 million EUR, less than 0.25% of the EU budget, over 1.2 million families could have electricity in their homes, study for longer hours, gain more skills, and have better opportunities. Women and girls will be able to spend less time on house chores and more on their education and businesses. More than 600 million people in Africa do not have electricity access.

Building a well in Africa costs approximately 2500 EUR, according to The Last Well, an NGO committed to providing sustainable clean drinking water solutions in the areas of greatest need around the world. This price not only includes the cost to physically build the well, but also to provide the village with vital information that helps ensure that the well continues functioning as it should and that village residents follow hygienic practices that cut down on the number of water-related diseases and illnesses. Each well that is built in Africa serves approximately 2,000 people and lasts about 20 years. 100 million EUR could help build 40,000 wells, and service 80 million people. Of the 783 million people who are without access to clean water, 40% live in sub-Saharan Africa, and more than 320 million people lack access to safe drinking water.

These are only two examples of how a relatively small budgetary focus shift could change millions of lives every year, provide better opportunities, and establish real development across Africa, which might result in people staying in their home countries with their families.

"The core message arising from this study, that migration is a reverberation of uneven development and particularly of a development trajectory that is failing young people, sends a strong signal to policymakers''. Mr. Steiner reitirates. "We must not become distracted by the false promise of short-term fixes: unnecessarily harsh domestic policies and diverting much-needed development assistance from core priorities. Doing so may only serve to further circumscribe the ambitions of young Africans instead of fostering and harnessing their potential as an engine of transformative change”.

Working on the field across sub-Saharan Africa is a mind-shaping practice, as I witness the hardships that drive local communities away with every new project we deploy. Africa’s infrastructure can and should be better, and the combination of policymakers, global investors, and driven private companies is the way to achieve it, change hundreds of millions of lives for the better, and present real opportunities for a prosperous future for people who wish to stay in their continent and watch it thrive.

The writer is an entrepreneur and investor, leading sustainability-driven companies in Africa and the Middle East