Monrovia, Liberia- As national leaders spoke to a group of returning Liberians at the Executive Mansion in Monrovia on Friday, December 12, 2025, the government of Liberia reiterated a strong call for Liberians living abroad to return home, make collective investments, and seize enormous economic opportunities in the private sector.
Minister Samuel A. Stevquoah, the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, welcomed members of the diaspora and commended them for their historic role in bringing peace, democracy, and stability back to Liberia during its darkest years of strife while speaking on behalf of President Joseph N. Boakai.
Minister Stevquoah informed the gathering that the sacrifices made by Liberians living overseas who garnered international notice during the civil war are essential to the country’s current peace. He described how diaspora activism forced world leaders to take action, resulting in former President Charles Taylor’s resignation and paving the way for enduring peace.
“We have peace thanks to your efforts,” said the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs. We have had three consecutive democratic elections and peaceful handovers of power thanks to your perseverance, characterizing the diaspora as a cornerstone of accountability and national advancement.
Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung of Liberia, for his part, stressed that the diaspora repatriation effort is economic in character rather than symbolic, with the goal of changing Liberia’s growth trajectory.
The Vice President claimed that Liberia has enormous untapped riches, especially in the private sector, based on his own experience growing up in the country’s slums. He contended that although government service is vital, true freedom and prosperity frequently come from investment and entrepreneurship.
“There is money in this country, If you take advantage of the private sector, you will be surprised you won’t even want a government job,” he narrated.
Additionally, Koung emphasized that Liberians must immediately take advantage of the country’s distinctive land ownership rules, which limit property ownership to people of Negro heritage, before further reforms open the market more widely to outsiders.
He claims that because Liberians have failed to invest collectively, foreign interests have taken control of industries like hospitality, construction, retail, and even the basic food supply, leaving Liberians as consumers rather than proprietors.
Citing instances where pooled resources might construct hotels, housing estates, resorts, and tourism infrastructure capable of producing long-term profit, the Vice President urged the diaspora to give up individuality and adopt cooperative investment strategies.
“Twenty Liberians with two hundred thousand dollars each can build what one person alone cannot; noting that collaboration remains Liberia’s greatest weakness and greatest opportunity,” he added.
Additionally, he suggested the establishment of a diaspora investment organization, proposing that a US$20 million fund could be established as seed money to obtain greater financing from commercial banks if 200,000 Liberians contributed just US$100 each.
Veep Koung identified tourist destinations like Cape Mount County and Lake Piso as high-potential locations where diaspora-backed initiatives may boost local economies, provide employment, and draw tourists from abroad.He highlighted prospects in healthcare, diagnostics, housing, agriculture, and small-scale commerce in addition to tourism, pointing out that Liberia already loses millions of dollars a year to medical travel outside for services like MRI scans.
“People fly to Ghana for things we can provide right here,” Liberians to seize gaps in the market rather than chasing only large, capital-intensive projects,” the Vice President stated.
In order to safeguard investors and guarantee transparency, he also addressed trust issues that have long deterred diaspora investment, advocating for stronger legislative frameworks, bank guarantees, and professional management structures.
However, Koung cautioned against unofficial family-based commercial agreements without the necessary paperwork, emphasizing that long-term collaborations need to be founded on accountability, the law, and well-defined succession planning. He made a direct comparison between the rigidity and harshness of American life and Liberia’s flexibility and economic possibilities for those who are ready to work hard and take chances.
