Africa’s M — Migration

Entire communities in Africa pool their meager resources to finance such long trips, which often cost between $3,000 and $6,000. Young men who manage to get into Europe and find a job then send money home to the community that, in one way or another, sponsored that departure.

Some communities are very successful at doing business in Europe. For example, most Africans selling wares on the Côte d'Azur are from the same ethnic group — and are very well-organized on top of it.

Smuggling illegal migrants has become an important business. Every year, between 10,000 and 16,000 Africans enter Europe from Morocco, Algeria and Libya.

Obviously, the continent of Africa itself suffers from this "brain drain." After all, it is many of its most talented people who choose to live abroad.

However, there is a partial upside to this migration: Limited though it may be, these migrants may transfer their business skills to improve the domestic economy.

How do they manage to do so? Well, thanks to modern communications, Africans working abroad can even own and manage businesses back home.