Best African countries for Black people to Visit before Relocating

Before you discount the idea of settling in Africa permanently or temporarily, understand the following: 

·        No one is forcing you to consider moving from the United States. If you are not interested in leaving your prosperous and secure life in the United States, great!  

·        If you do not have a trade, transferable skill, penny to your name or entrepreneurial bone in your body, this kind of move is probably not for you. None of these countries have a safety net for their own citizens, much less non-citizens.

·        Just because you move abroad as a U.S. citizen, does not mean you have to give up your U.S. passport or citizenship. You can remain a U.S. citizen regardless of where you live. If you give birth abroad, your child will also be a U.S. citizen as long as they are DNA linked to you.

·        We are well aware that the United States was built by and on the backs of the ancestors of African American citizens, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy your life and live with dignity, respect and safety. 

·        We are also aware that many Africans would like to move to the U.S. and this leads many Black people around the world to believe Africa is not all that great. There are many factors that push Africans to migrate to Western countries, but few of these reasons have anything to do with why you shouldn't explore settling on the continent. The continent has 54 countries and offers a plethora of opportunities to the entrepreneur.  

·        Africa as a whole is still a conservative and traditional place with South Africa being perhaps the only exception. Most people are either Christian, or Muslim and a small part still practice their traditional belief system. 

·        All the countries included on our list have stable governments, and developing economies with room for industrious and creative entrepreneurs.

·        We always recommend you read up on a countries' people, cultures, lifestyle, political system, economies and visit Africa before deciding to settle there. 

  

We have created a list of a few Africa countries we think offer viable relocation options:

GHANA

Official Language: English is the official language of Ghana and taught in schools. Numerous Akan languages are also widely spoken all over Ghana. 

Economic opportunities: Ghana is one of the most stable growth economies in Africa. Westerners settling here will need to focus on self-employment as jobs will be comparatively low paying compared to industrialized countries. Opportunities present themselves in the manufacturing industry,entertainment and outsource services industry. 

Major Cities: Accra and Kumasi

Climate: Hot and tropical with a rainy season. 

Political System: Stable, peaceful and democratic with elections held every 4 years.

Visas and immigration: Current President Nana Akufo-Addo is very open to African Diaspora settling in Ghana and helping build a brighter future. Tourist visas are limited to 90 days.

Check out this Wode Maya video with a young African American couple (no longer together):

 

THE GAMBIA

Official Language: English, and Wolof are commonly spoken. English is the language of education.

Economic opportunities: Tourism is the main economy in The Gambia but given the lush fertile soil agribusiness is also possible. Aquaculture is also popular and suitable given the climate. 

Major Cities: Banjul (capital city)

Climate: Hot and tropical

Political System: President is elected by popular vote for a five year term.

Visas and immigration: Tourist visas as well as business visas are easily attained for The Gambia. 

Check out 'Black Acres of the Gambia' who made the move:

 

SENEGAL

Official Language: Wolof and French are the main languages of Senegal. Wolof is the local lingua franca used by Senegalese of all ethnicities in and around Dakar. This is also the first language of the largest ethnic group of the country, the Wolof people. Anecdotally we have it on good authority that Wolof is a very easy language to learn, most non native speakers agree Wolof can be learned in as little as 6 months.

Economic opportunities: Dakar is the center of commerce and main seaport on the coast of West Africa. Trading as well as manufacturing opportunities abound. Setting up a business in Senegal takes no more than 24 hours and has been streamlined with the Apix service office. 

Major Cities: Dakar (capital city), St. Louis and Thies

Climate: Dry and desert like in the north of the country and wet, tropical and verdant in the south.

Political System: Stable and peaceful democracy.

Visas and immigration: 90 days for a tourist visa. Click the link for more details about long term visas. 

Check out this Akon video talking about investing in Senegal and beyond:

 

TANZANIA

Official Language: Kiswahilli and English are the official languages of Tanzania.

Economic opportunities: Opportunities abound in mining, manufacturing, tourism etc...

Major Cities: Dar es Salaam (largest city and administrative capital), Dodoma (legislative capital city), Mwanza, and Zanzibar.

Climate: Warm and tropical on the Indian Ocean coast and in the lowlands. Temperate climate in the highland areas.

Political System: Presidential elections are held every 5 years.

Visas and immigration:system might require some help navigating but is not impossible.

Check out this BBC report on three Americans who made the move to Africa:

@Melanin_Migration is the young lady with children that made the move to Tanzania.

 

RWANDA

Official Language: Kinyarwanda is the national language of Rwanda. Although the country was previously French speaking, Rwanda has now changed over to English as the most prominent foreign language spoken in the country. 

Economic opportunities: Agribusiness, manufacturing, education and STEM export related businesses are booming in Rwanda. 

Major Cities: Kigali (capital city)

Climate: Temperate with two rainy seasons.

Political System: Paul Kagame has led the country of Rwanda for the last 20 years but has stated he will “most likely” not run in the next elections in 2024. Each presidential term is for 7 years.

Visas and immigration: Investors are welcome in many sectors of the economy.

Curious to see what the capital city of Rwanda looks like?:

We know, no country is perfect but we feel there are some non negotiables that seem to disproportionately affect peoples of African descent in the United States. 

So much more could be said about this amazing continent but this is just to whet your appetite at the possibilities and encourage you to research more about relocation or simply visiting Africa. Travel Africa Tours is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and would love to arrange all your Africa or Ethiopia tour and travel needs.

In addition to the countries listed, there are other African countries where opportunities abound for the open minded and creative entrepreneurial types and we hope to explore them in a future blog post. 

In case you aren’t ready to make a major move, you can always check out Birthright for information on sponsored birthright trips to Africa for youth and young adults.