The role of emigrants in Cabo Verde\u27s development process

Emigration has always been a part of Cabo-Verdiano reality and increasingly the government and emigrants are looking to establish partnerships in order to help the country\u27s challenging development process. This paper studies how Cabo-Verdiano emigrants in the United States participate in the development process of their country of origin. The main question of this paper is: What role does Cabo Verde\u27s emigrant community in the United States play in Cabo Verde\u27s development process? A qualitative approach was used in this research and the main methods were semi-structured interviews and document review. The interviews included a sample of government officials, NGO leaders and returned emigrants in Cabo Verde as well as emigrants (or descendants of) in the United States representing Cabo-Verdiano emigrant organizations. The study reveals that there is great interest on the part of emigrants and officials in Cabo Verde to involve emigrants in the country\u27s development process and to develop strategies for effective collaboration in order to have a greater impact. Their interest is based on continuing emotional ties to the land. Recommendations of ways that emigrants could have an increased role and greater impact on Cabo Verde\u27s development includes supporting areas such as the education and health sectors, the business sector, the non-profit sector, as well as the transferring of knowledge and skills