From Remittances to Smart Capital: Ai Models for Predictive Diaspora Investment in Africa’s Infrastructure Growth

Abstract

The African diaspora constitutes a formidable economic force, with remittance flows consistently surpassing foreign direct investment (FDI) and official development assistance (ODA) across many countries. Historically directed toward household consumption and familial support, these remittances represent an underutilized resource with the potential to drive structured and sustained economic development particularly in infrastructure, a sector critical to Africa’s long-term progress. This paper argues that remittances can be strategically transformed from passive income into "smart capital" through the application of artificial intelligence (AI) predictive models. These models possess the capacity to forecast, direct, and optimize diaspora investments into high-impact infrastructure initiatives.
By leveraging data-driven insights, machine learning algorithms, and predictive analytics, AI technologies can identify investment-ready opportunities, align diaspora capital with national development priorities, and mitigate the risks typically associated with informal remittance usage. This study explores the development and deployment of AI-enabled platforms that analyze remittance flows, financial behavior, and macroeconomic indicators to inform investment in sectors such as transportation, energy, healthcare, and digital infrastructure. Furthermore, it examines the technological, policy, and ethical considerations necessary to support this transformation. Ultimately, this paper proposes a paradigm shift from viewing remittances merely as microeconomic lifelines to harnessing them as macroeconomic drivers of infrastructure-led development through the intelligent integration of emerging technologies.