UBA Launches Platform for Africans to Invest Back Home

Africans living abroad send over $100 billion home every year, but until now, most of that money stopped at simple transfers to family members.

United Bank for Africa just changed the game with a new diaspora platform that turns those remittances into real wealth. Launched at UBA's headquarters in Lagos, the platform connects Africans worldwide to investments, real estate, insurance, healthcare, and pension plans back on the continent.

"For decades, Africa's engagement with its diaspora has focused largely on remittances," said Anant Rao, UBA's Head of Diaspora Banking. "Today, we are moving beyond that."

The platform brings together six major partners including United Capital for investment products, Afriland Properties for real estate, Heirs Insurance for protection, and Avon Healthcare for medical coverage. Africans in Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, or anywhere else can now manage their entire financial lives across borders through one trusted system.

Alero Ladipo, UBA's Group Head of Marketing, emphasized that modern Africans are global citizens who need structured connections to home. "Whether living in Africa, Europe, the Americas, or the Middle East, there must be a structured and secure financial connection to your home country," she said.

The Ripple Effect spreads far beyond individual bank accounts. When diaspora Africans invest in their home continent through professionally managed channels, that capital builds businesses, creates jobs, and funds infrastructure that lifts entire communities. The platform embodies Africapitalism, a philosophy championed by UBA founder Tony Elumelu that Africa's private sector must lead the continent's development through investments that generate both profits and social impact.

Partners reported growing demand from diaspora communities for exactly these kinds of structured opportunities. People want to own property, protect their families with insurance, invest in African markets, and save for retirement, but they've lacked transparent pathways to do it safely from abroad.

"Africa will increasingly be financed by Africans themselves, including Africans abroad," Rao added. The platform provides the trusted infrastructure to make that vision reality, converting diaspora capital from a simple flow of funds into a strategic growth partner.

When Africa's 140 million diaspora citizens can invest confidently in their homeland, growth becomes inevitable.