Transnational Ties and Local Development: An Analysis of Diasporic Gambian Women's Contributions to Socio-Economic Initiatives, 2021-2026

This original research article examines the critical, yet under-analysed, role of diasporic Gambian women in driving socio-economic development in The Gambia. It addresses a significant gap in scholarship, arguing that prevailing analyses of diaspora contributions frequently marginalise women’s specific modalities and sectors of influence, thereby obscuring the gendered nature of transnational engagement. Employing a rigorous, qualitative multi-sited methodology, the study integrates data from semi-structured interviews with 35 Gambian women in the United Kingdom and the United States, alongside ethnographic field observations of six community-led initiatives in The Gambia’s North Bank and West Coast Regions. The analysis reveals that participants predominantly channel resources into ‘social infrastructure’, including sustainable agriculture co-operatives, maternal health clinics, and girls’ STEM education programmes, thus prioritising long-term community capacity over physical infrastructure. Their strategies are characterised by a nuanced use of digital remittance platforms and the formation of transnational kin networks that enable direct, accountable project management. These findings challenge homogenised narratives of diaspora finance, demonstrating how Gambian women’s diasporic agency reshapes local development paradigms through a lens of social reproduction and gendered responsibility. The article concludes that centring African women’s transnational lived experiences is essential for formulating inclusive, effective development policies aimed at leveraging diaspora capital for equitable growth.