DEVINPRO Moldova 2009/2010: Strengthening the link between migration and development through developing and testing replicable migration-related products and services for migrants and their communities
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Brief description of the initiative
The project aimed to directly support migrants to meet their migration-related objectives, specifically related to the accumulation of savings and investment capital. This included facilitation of networking between communities in countries of origin, migrant communities in host countries, and financial intermediaries. It also aimed at maximizing the development aspect of migration, and improve migrant capacities in financial, social, and human capital. This was achieved through improving investment returns, encouraging entrepreneurship, and creating employment in Moldova.
Results and lessons learned
The project has made significant progress towards the objective of assessing the market demand for / identifying products and services of relevance to migrants, covering the entire circle of migration (pre-departure, period of migration, and return). To accomplish this, qualitative interviews with key stakeholders, household surveys and migrant surveys have been held. Additionally, a workshop was carried out with the participation of the partners, National Bank and the government. The results were also distributed through a press conference and bilateral interviews with representatives of the media and a leading Diaspora organization (that comprise over 500 addresses).
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Key success or innovative factors
In reaching the objectives of addressing the limitations to remittances, balancing brain drain and mobilizing migrant communities for development, the project was considered highly innovative. It is based on an exploration of a key area of migration and development that is often ignored or underestimated by analysts, governments and commercial financial intermediaries alike. While ‘Remittances’ have become a well researched and popular sector of intervention over the preceding decade, the hypothesis underlying DEVINPRO Moldova was that one of key migration related objectives of most migrants is to build up financial capital often combined with other important skills and contacts during migration. As a result of this important ambition, a pool of migrant savings is accumulating in cash, investments and banking systems in the place of migration rather than being remitted or saved at home. Building on similar research methodologies carried out by IASCI in other countries of South Eastern Europe and Central Asia DEVINPRO Moldova therefore focuses on examining and building on the nexus between: a) supporting migrants to achieve their primary migration related objectives as they relate to income generation activities and savings; and, b) directly linking this saving objective and resulting financial flows with viable financial inter-mediation, investment opportunities, and hence sustainable development.
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Main objectives
The overall goal of DEVINPRO was to support and leverage the positive impacts of migration vis-à-vis sustainable development.
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Main activities
Activities included market research on the group of migrants as ‘clients'. The project developed and tested a variety of options for transfer of remittances, including but not limited to micro-credit, small loans for housing, health insurance, mutual investment funds, pension and child education savings schemes.
Main beneficiaries
The key beneficiary groups (or target groups) of DEVINPRO included: Potential migrants; Circular migrants; Long-term and returning migrants, including Diaspora; Dependents and Entrepreneurs in place of origin.
Project Pictures
Project Documents
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Short presentation of migrants survey conducted in December-January 2010 in Moldova at border points.
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Regional overview - Key Findings of Devinpro Project
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This market analysis was carried out using concepts and methodologies developed by the International Agency for Source Country Information Migration (IASCI). The IASCI Moldova Project was implemented in partnership with the Centre for Sociological, Psychological and Politological Analysis and Investigations (CIVIS), and with the support of the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS). The project was financed by the EC-UN Joint Migration and Development Initiative.
The objective of this market analysis is to inform IASCI project partners with the totality of the market research carried out to date. This document is intended to support previous materials distributed, as well as bilateral consultations carried out with consortium members and other stakeholders within the context of the project, and should be read and seen in that context.
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Annex 1 to the main report "Maximasing the Development-Impact of Migration-related Financial Flows and Investment to Moldova".
A survey of 1,200 households (HHs) took place in October 2009 and covered all 12 regions of Moldova. 80% of surveyed HHs were selected for having one or more household (HH) member in long-term term migration (i.e. one year or longer). The remaining 20% represented a control group with no HH member in long-term migration in 2009 .
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Annex 2 to the main report "Maximasing the Development-Impact of Migration-related Financial Flows and Investment to Moldova".
The Annex 2 comrpises desktop research summary based on a comprehensive bibliography on migration phenomenon in Moldova.
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The underlying premise inroduced in the article is that: while remittances are undoubtedly important to recipient countries and households, it is in fact the transfer of accumulated capital, rather than current remittances per se - especially when combined with the social and human capital migrants might wish to invest in the realization of their plans and ideas - which has the greater potential of being a substantial development opportunity. This of course assumes that suitable local conditions and migrant/saver-specific incentives exist, or can be created.
Logically, the wish to return and save/invest in the country of origin is by definition higher in circular migrants, i.e. those with a stated wish to return, than in those practicing ‘permanent migration’; and our research empirically confirms this. -
Mass media reflections about Devinpro Moldova Project