A major Careers Expo in London will offer Africans abroad the chance to take their skills back into Africa

Established in South Africa in 2003, Homecoming Revolution is the one-stop platform that showcases careers, properties, schools, relocation services, investments and entrepreneurial opportunities in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Ghana.

With key marketing activities, in partnership with public and private sectors, Homecoming Revolution leverages the emotional hook of connecting the African diaspora to home.

Sub-Saharan Africa is poised for take-off, requiring strong leadership, top skills and job creation. Skilled Africans bring home not only a superb range of international expertise, global relationships and local knowledge, but a strong sense of purpose and willingness to give back too.

The Expo will take place over the weekend of 15-16 March at the Olympia Conference Centre in London and this exciting event will encourage skilled Africans in the diaspora to return home. With a focus on South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and Kenya, the expo will include:

“I remember looking up at Madiba as he waved to thousands of pale-faced South Africans from the balcony of the South African embassy”, recalls Angel Jones, Founder and CEO of Homecoming Revolution.

“It was 1999, on a freezing Tuesday morning in London’s Trafalgar Square. Madiba said ‘I love you all so much, I want to put you in my pocket and take you home’. And the roaring crowd filled my ears as a fundamental realization hit me hard. What the hell are we all doing so far away? It’s time to go home.”

Angel had been working at M&C Saatchi London for seven years and, soon after, returned to Johannesburg to open up M&C Saatchi Johannesburg with business partner, Nina Morris.

Homecoming Revolution was launched in January 2003 across the internet to 20,000 South Africans worldwide and quickly spread into a global campaign, highlighting thousands of South Africans around the world who wanted to come home.

Ten years later, says Angel, “What was only being done for South Africans is now also being done for East Africans and West Africans too.”

“We have found that the top four reasons that Africans return home are: friends and family, a sense of belonging, lifestyle and career opportunities,” says Angel. “Africans in the diaspora want to be kept informed of career and entrepreneurial opportunities, global events, stories of people who have moved back and advice on making the move.”

Previous Homecoming Revolution Expos have delivered concrete results, she adds. “Of our Expo attendees, 61% return home within the first six months. This is really significant because 30%have been away from home for at least five years and 40% for 10 years.”

Homecomers are ready to tell us of their experiences, with one returnee to South Africa saying, "I wasn't moving back, I was moving forwards."

Connecting with their history is also important, says a returnee to Nigeria. "I belong again. My history is here. I point out to my kids where I rode my bike as a child.”

Homecoming Revolution also point to the changes that have swept across Africa. A Homecomer who returned to Ghana noted that "Back home we're now working in solar, micro-hydro and wind.”

Having made the right decision to return to South Africa, Angel says, she is today a passionate advocate for Africans abroad to make the move back home.

“As they say, “Africa stays in your blood. There is nothing on earth that beats this feeling of belonging.”