A proposed partnership between the Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank Management Company (YEIB-MANCO) and the Office of Diaspora Affairs (ODA) could help address one of the persistent challenges facing young Liberian entrepreneurs--turning business ideas and production capacity into sustainable enterprises with access to capital, experienced mentors, and dependable markets beyond Liberia.
The two institutions held exploratory discussions on Thursday, October 8, 2026, at the Office of ODA at the Executive Mansion in Monrovia, examining how diaspora investment, professional expertise, and international business networks could be mobilized to strengthen youth-led enterprises, expand exports, and create jobs.
The discussions come at a time when Liberia is seeking to strengthen its private sector and create more economic opportunities for young people. Although access to finance remains a major constraint for emerging businesses, the ability to identify customers, meet quality requirements, maintain consistent production, and reach profitable markets can be equally decisive in determining whether enterprises survive and grow.
The proposed collaboration is significant because it seeks to connect these needs rather than address them separately. YEIB-MANCO brings an enterprise-development and financing framework, while ODA offers a potential bridge to Liberians abroad and the wider diaspora community, including professionals, investors, distributors, and business networks.
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The meeting brought together Erasmus Williams, Head of the Office of Diaspora Affairs; Emmanuel B. Kollie, the office's Chief Administrative Officer; Joseph Fatorma Sando, Chief Executive Officer of YEIB-MANCO; Hillary B. David, Director for Enterprise Development; and Marcus B. Zarway, YEIB-AfDB Project Coordinator.
A central issue discussed was the potential to supply diaspora markets with authentic Liberian products, including palm oil, gari, dried fish, pepper, and other indigenous food items.
Participants observed that Liberian food products enjoy demand among diaspora communities, particularly in the United States, Europe, and the ECOWAS region. Yet local producers are reportedly not capturing enough of this opportunity, with some products marketed as Liberian in overseas markets said to originate from other countries, including Ghana and Malaysia.
If substantiated and addressed, this market gap could create opportunities for Liberian-owned businesses to increase production, develop stronger brands, and earn revenue from products associated with the country's culinary heritage.
However, demand alone does not guarantee export success. Producers must be able to supply consistent quantities, maintain product quality, comply with destination-market food safety and labelling requirements, and establish reliable packaging, storage, and distribution arrangements. Exporters also need to understand pricing, shipping costs, customs procedures, and the requirements of potential buyers.
This is where collaboration between YEIB-MANCO and ODA could become particularly valuable. Diaspora networks may help identify genuine demand and connect producers with prospective buyers, while YEIB-MANCO could explore support for the business development, investment readiness, and financing needed to meet those opportunities.
The objective would be to move beyond occasional product showcases or informal trading relationships toward a more structured system linking local production with identifiable customers and repeat orders.
For young entrepreneurs, that distinction matters. Access to a buyer can provide a clearer basis for business planning, while a credible order or distribution agreement may help an enterprise demonstrate its commercial potential to prospective financiers.
YEIB is a flagship initiative of the Government of Liberia and the African Development Bank (AfDB), established to strengthen youth entrepreneurship and financial inclusion. The initiative was launched in Liberia in July 2025 and combines financing with non-financial support for youth-led businesses. Its core instruments include the Technical Assistance Facility, the Enterprise Investment Facility, and the Credit Guarantee Facility.
The Technical Assistance Facility is intended to support business development and capacity building; the Enterprise Investment Facility provides an avenue for investment financing; and the Credit Guarantee Facility is designed to reduce lending risks and improve access to credit.
ODA, meanwhile, is mandated to deepen engagement with Liberians abroad and the wider African diaspora, mobilizing professional expertise, investment, and strategic partnerships for national development.
The potential value of bringing the two institutions together lies in their complementary roles. Financing can help a business purchase equipment, acquire inputs, or expand production, but capital alone cannot guarantee commercial success. Equally, diaspora connections may generate promising leads, but those opportunities will remain unrealized if local enterprises cannot meet demand or secure the resources required to fulfil orders.
A coordinated approach could therefore connect several stages of enterprise development: identifying market opportunities, assessing business readiness, providing technical assistance, mobilizing investment, meeting export requirements, and linking businesses to buyers.
The partnership could also create opportunities for diaspora professionals and entrepreneurs to contribute through mentorship, coaching, technical training, skills transfer, and business-to-business matchmaking.
These interventions would be particularly useful for young enterprises that have demonstrated potential but lack the experience, networks, or resources to compete in more demanding markets.
The Liberian diaspora represents more than a source of remittances. Its members may also possess professional knowledge, commercial relationships, technical expertise, and investment experience that could contribute to enterprise development at home.
The proposed collaboration recognizes the possibility of mobilizing those resources more systematically.
Two ODA initiatives discussed at the meeting could provide channels for such engagement: the Diaspora Professional Service Corps (DPSC), intended to match diaspora professionals with local needs, and the iLiberia Platform, a proposed digital tool for connecting Liberians at home and abroad with opportunities and resources.
If linked effectively to YEIB-MANCO's enterprise support activities, these initiatives could help match businesses with professionals who understand particular industries, export markets, product standards, financial management, digital marketing, and supply-chain operations.
For example, a young Liberian food-processing business could benefit from a diaspora professional with experience in food distribution or international retail. A producer seeking overseas customers could require guidance on packaging, pricing, market positioning, or regulatory compliance before approaching distributors.
Such arrangements would need clear selection criteria, defined responsibilities, measurable outcomes, and follow-up mechanisms to ensure that professional exchanges lead to practical business improvements rather than isolated engagements.
The proposed 2026 Diaspora Annual Return could provide another opportunity to advance the effort. According to the meeting brief, the event is expected to bring together diaspora Liberians, business leaders, cultural organizations, government institutions, and international partners. It could offer a platform for eligible youth-led businesses to showcase their products, meet prospective investors, and establish commercial relationships.
For the event to produce lasting economic value, however, participation should be connected to a structured process of business screening, buyer identification, matchmaking, and post-event follow-up. The measure of success would not simply be the number of businesses showcased, but the quality of the relationships established and the commercial opportunities that subsequently materialize.
Despite its promise, the proposed partnership remains at the exploratory stage. The institutions have identified possible areas of cooperation, but the discussions have not yet established a formal agreement or confirmed specific financing commitments, export contracts, or implementation targets.
The parties identified two immediate follow-up actions--drafting a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to outline potential areas of cooperation, including MSME strengthening, export guidance, and promotion; and identifying synergies between YEIB's existing interventions and budget lines and ODA's programs to improve alignment and cost-effectiveness.
These steps will be important in translating the broad vision into an operational arrangement.
An effective MoU should clarify each institution's responsibilities, the businesses eligible for support, how diaspora partners will be identified and vetted, how resources will be mobilized, and how progress will be measured. It should also establish a practical referral process so that enterprises identified through ODA's networks can access appropriate YEIB-MANCO support, subject to eligibility and available resources.
Performance indicators could include the number of enterprises receiving technical assistance, businesses matched with diaspora mentors or investors, export-ready products developed, buyer relationships established, financing mobilized, and export orders secured. Where feasible, the institutions could also track repeat orders, business revenue, and jobs created or sustained.
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Such measures would help distinguish meaningful economic outcomes from activities that are visible but have limited lasting impact.
The proposed YEIB-MANCO-ODA partnership also raises a broader question about how public institutions coordinate their efforts to support Liberia's economic development.
Entrepreneurship programs, diaspora engagement, investment promotion, and export development can produce limited results when they operate independently. Businesses may receive training without finding customers, meet prospective investors without becoming investment-ready, or identify export opportunities without obtaining the technical and financial support required to pursue them.
Collaboration offers a way to bridge these gaps by linking institutions around a shared economic objective rather than relying on separate activities.
That approach is consistent with the broader purpose of YEIB, which the AfDB has described as an effort to help transform young people from job seekers into job creators. At the bank's launch in July 2025, AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina emphasized the urgency of the youth employment challenge, stating: "The future of Liberia's youth cannot be left to hustling."
The proposed partnership could help translate that ambition into practical opportunities by connecting young entrepreneurs not only to financing and training, but also to commercial networks capable of supporting business growth.
Its long-term significance will depend on whether the institutions can move beyond exploratory discussions, establish clear responsibilities, coordinate existing resources, and build a reliable pathway from local enterprise development to market access.
If implemented effectively, the initiative could help more young Liberians turn indigenous products and entrepreneurial ideas into competitive businesses, while giving members of the diaspora a more structured way to invest their knowledge, networks, and resources in Liberia's economic future.
For now, the discussions represent an opening rather than a completed achievement. The next test is whether the proposed MoU and follow-up actions can convert institutional goodwill into measurable gains for youth-led enterprises, export development, and employment creation.
