Living abroad and boosting the economy at home

In Douala, Cameroon’s second-largest city, a laser cuts metal sheets precisely to the millimetre. Sandra Aboh Tembei checks the dimensions of a door frame in her small factory. Her company, the Mellow Group, produces precision components made of metal and wood for furniture, doors and façades. Three years ago, she lacked the machinery for this precision work. Today she employs seven staff and supplies construction projects across the country. The decisive factor came from an investment from Germany.

Technology meets local initiative 

Sandra Aboh Tembei and Fokam Foadieng Jacques Isacar studied together in Cameroon. Today, Isacar lives in Pfungstadt in the German Federal State of Hesse. The materials engineer continued his studies in Germany and established himself there as a skilled worker. When Sandra set up her business, he invested EUR 1,250 in her company via the digital platform WIDU.africa. Sandra contributed the same amount. GIZ doubled the sum with a further EUR 2,500. This enabled Jacques Isacar’s university friend to buy an industrial drill and grow her business.

’We’ve halved our production time,’ explains Sandra. Her company processes steel using laser technology and computer-controlled machine tools. ‘I want to show that Africa doesn’t just have to export raw materials,’ she says. ‘We can manufacture high-quality products ourselves.’ In 2023, she won the ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ award in Cameroon.

Remittances as an economic driver

In Africa, remittances now significantly exceed public funding for development cooperation. In 2024 alone, more than USD 95 billion flowed back to the continent. In many countries, that is more than earnings from exports. Many diaspora are driven by the desire to invest in their homeland. They want to support their families, but also to create jobs and contribute to local economic development. Just like investor Jacques Isacar, who says: ‘My aim is to empower people in Africa so that they can overcome challenges themselves – particularly in Cameroon.’

The platform WIDU.africa acts as a catalyst by channelling remittances specifically into productive, long-term business investments. This benefits not only individual households, but entire local economies in the countries of origin. GIZ implements WIDU on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), with support from the European Union and the Gates Foundation.

Systematic investment

The model: A member of the diaspora and an African entrepreneur each invest at least EUR 150. GIZ doubles the sum with up to EUR 3,000. For subsequent applications, the maximum grant rises to EUR 5,000. Sandra also received three coaching sessions and continued her training on the free learning platform atingi. Here, she gains practical know-how to run her business even more successfully. WIDU is now active in nine African countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Mali and Senegal since early 2026. Diaspora members from all EU Member States, as well as from Norway and Switzerland, can now participate and provide financial support to family members and friends in Africa. Businesses across all sectors receive support.

WIDU has supported over 7,600 businesses in Africa to date, helping secure and create more than 18,000 jobs. Over half of these jobs have gone to women.

Sandra is already planning her next project: a solar panel factory. ‘Africa needs clean energy,’ she is convinced. With WIDU.africa and GIZ by her side, she might succeed. An example of how African initiative and European partnership are transforming the economy together, and creating sustainable jobs.