ABSTRACT
The often long-standing and intensive engagement of exile diasporic communities in their countries of origin produces significant flows of capital, network relations, knowledge and technology, and political support. Researchers have come to assess the significance of such communities for home countries in ambivalent terms. Whereas remittances and philanthropic donations from these communities to home countries are on the positive side of the balance sheet, they are also seen as an engine of ‘brain drain,’ that is, the loss of human capital that permanently affects the developmental potential of the home country, a loss that cannot be equated by remittances and donations (Agunias, 2006; Maimbo & Ratha, 2005; Naudé, 2007; Newland, 2004). However, the ‘classic’ brain drain versus remittances equation has come to be replaced by a much more differentiated and complex relationship between countries and their diasporas. The inability to facilitate education and employment in the home country itself results in a sustained state of ‘brain waste.’ Remittances can be strategically put to use by individuals, households, and agencies to reverse this trend and create conditions that attract diaspora to return—temporarily, permanently or circularly—in order to contribute to development as professionals, experts or aid workers, and as business people and entrepreneurs. In particular, entrepreneurship—with its inherent innovative potential— is expected to contribute significantly to economic growth, development, and social change (Naudé, 2007). This is how ‘brain drain’ and ‘brain waste’ may turn into ‘brain gain’ and ‘brain trust’ (cf. Agunias, 2006, p. 9). Business-entrepreneurial capital consisting of the built-up business assets, knowledge, skills, and expertise of members of diasporic communities may be rather valuable for (re)building a thriving business community in the home country and, at the same time, contribute to capacity building and social change.
