— MAZI EJIMOFOR OPARA
Governor Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo’s recent trip to Canada and the United States wasn’t a tour. It was work. Deliberate, structured, and aimed at one thing: putting Anambra on the map as the place for “everything investment.”
In Canada, the conversation was with Nigerians in the diaspora. At the Nigerians in Diaspora event, the governor didn’t come asking for more remittances. He came with a bigger idea called Direct Foreign Diaspora Investment, or DFDI. The pitch was simple. Instead of just sending money home every month for upkeep, why not pool that capital into things that stay — factories, hospitals, schools, housing, SMEs.
“Anambra is ready,” he told the room. And he had receipts to back it: better roads, friendlier policies, and a government that’s focused on delivery. For many in that hall who already take care of families back home, it was a shift in thinking. From support to ownership. From sending to building.
From there, he headed to the United States. This leg was about tech, healthcare, and business. The meetings were with investors, founders, and the people building the innovation ecosystem. The anchor for all of it is the Solution Innovation District in Awka — SID. Think of it as Africa’s Silicon Valley in the making.
The discussions were practical. How can we bring software, hardware, AI, fintech, and digital skills training to SID? How can we set them up here, and then scale them across Nigeria and the rest of Africa? The math was clear. Diaspora professionals in North America have the networks, the expertise, and the capital. Global tech firms have the platforms, training, and markets. SID provides the land, the infrastructure, and the policy environment to make it all work in Anambra.
So the bridge is being built. Capital from Canada. Technology and partnerships from the US. A home for both at SID. That’s how you get diaspora money meeting innovation infrastructure, and turning into real tech jobs in Anambra.
Why does this matter? First, the sequencing was intentional. Canada unlocked people and money. The US unlocked technology and scale. Both feed directly into the “Made in Anambra” agenda. Second, it’s about the role of a governor as Chief Marketing Officer. His job is to go to where the money, the skills, and the partnerships are, and bring them home.
We have to talk about the bigger picture too. Nigeria gets over $20 billion in remittances every year, and Anambra is one of the biggest beneficiaries. But the goal now is conversion. Moving that money from consumption to production. From “send money for school fees” to “let’s co-found the startup at SID that will employ 200 graduates.”
That’s what DFDIs, backed by infrastructure like SID, are designed to do.
This trip wasn’t empty. It was economic diplomacy with a blueprint. Canada to activate diaspora capital. The US to activate diaspora talent and global tech for SID. Together, both trips point to one objective: making Anambra the preferred destination for investment, innovation, and enterprise.