Formation of Diaspora Entrepreneurs

“Diaspora entrepreneurs are people with a foot in two countries but by definition they live outside of the country of their origin, at least part of the time” (Winkel, 2010). They exist and their numbers are on the rise. The contemporary human landscape is dramatically changing. As diaspora become trans-national and trans-functional, increasingly governments of all echelons in several countries simultaneously consider them a valuable asset. There is evidence of competition in and between countries to engage with diaspora entrepreneurs. Rapid rises in business activities through global migration in recent years, coupled with the burden of aging populations, has created a sense of urgency for exploring the contribution diaspora entrepreneurs (DE) make to the local, national, and international economies. However, managing DE is increasingly becoming a challenge for contemporary economies; including the potential for human-made disasters as distinct voices emerge due to exacerbation of differences in class, gender, race, ethnicity, cultural affinity and relationship to the past, present and future. Part of the managerial challenge is recognising changing trends in global migration, technological advancement, ageing populations and emerging markets. These changes have extraordinary implications in terms of equity, efficiency and effectiveness. Maximising value from the operations of DE can no longer simply rely on conventional managerial practices. The underlying conditions leading to the creation of DE are the focus of this paper. These conditions allow us to categorise DE to enable policy that responds to these differences and allows for greater holistic, i.e. social, environmental, economic, individual, national and global, benefit.