Returning to drive small business exports: diaspora entrepreneurs in Ghana's fruit processing clusters

Abstract

Returnee entrepreneur (RE) businesses have extensively contributed to economies around the world. However, REs ability to galvanise and coordinate local business networks and permeate the international markets within countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have mostly been overlooked, particularly in the context of exporting activities in Africa. This paper posits that diaspora 'returnee entrepreneurs' can become potent channels for the promotion and facilitation of the internationalisation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing economies. An original piece of empirical research on two exporting food processing clusters in Ghana shows that REs can introduce external technology, develop and sustain international customer networks and are able to meet international standards, thus becoming carriers for internationalisation from the onset. African returnees are able to build trust-based relationships within home country formal business structures and establish strong ties with international customers that accommodate operational and institutional bottlenecks.