About the Kenya Diaspora Network (KDN)

The Kenya Diaspora Network (“The Network”) is a non-political organization whose primary objective is to support the Kenyan Government development efforts by aligning the resources and inherent knowledge of Kenyan Organizations in the Diaspora with the Government's Economic Recovery Plan (GERP) and with the Donors' Country Assistance Plans. The Network was recently formed at the behest of the Kenyan government in conjunction with the World Bank Institute and Western Hemisphere African Diaspora Network (WHADN-an initiative of the AU).

The Kenyan Network has characteristics of Diaspora networks from other countries. These other networks have been critically vital in the infusion of investment capital, commercial expertise and transfer of knowledge consistent with their respective countries’ needs and economic development objectives. Examples of these countries include China (See Economist November 10,2003), India, Ireland, Malaysia and many others.

The Kenyan Network’s vision, like many others countries' Diaspora initiatives, is to mobilize the Diaspora to increase Kenya's wealth creation and multiplication. This will be done by pooling the respective resources and expertise of each Kenyan organization and their individual members into a unified, coordinated and constructive core towards a common project/goal in support of Kenya's socio-economic recovery plan.

In that respect, The Network will operate as a Secretariat, which links Kenyan organizations in the Diaspora with each other, the government, local communities, other civil societies, private sector and national and international development actors. When implemented, the Network will be a development partner to Diaspora organizations, to the Kenyan Government and the Donor Community serving as a Clearinghouse – a centralized portal serving each group in a specific manner to enable each group to meet its socio-economic goals and objectives.

In line with this The Networks’ core areas have been divided into the following Development Sectors:

The Network will be a facilitator; it has no aspiration to assume the work or mandates of other Diaspora organizations. It will work to assist member organization maximize their capabilities through; identifying funding, sourcing, knowledge improvement and implementation. This will be done through forums, events, training and one on one meeting.

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