Return of Mughtaribeen: The Role of High Skilled Return Migrants in Human Capital Transfer and Capacity Development in Khartoum

Abstract

Since the last two decades there has been a rising acknowledgment in the strong link between migration and development. This migration-development nexus argues that migrants play a role in the development of the country of origin. Return migration with its human capital implications is one of the most commonly cited benefits of migration for the sending countries. Previous research indicated that highly qualified migrants are more likely to return, act as agents of change and reverse the negative effects of brain drain. The aim of this research is to assess how highly skilled Sudanese return migrants contribute to knowledge transfer and capacity development on organizational level and the factors facilitating and impeding knowledge flows. To address this various professional active highly skilled return migrants including second-generation returnees are interviewed. Results revealed that returnees acquire both tacit and explicit knowledge in the host country and employ several methods to transfer that knowledge in the workplace upon return, but many experience factors that facilitate and hinder their endeavors. It can be concluded that returned highly skilled migrants have a high potential for capacity development on organizational level. Yet, the impact of highly skilled return migration on capacity development would certainly be substantially larger if more favorable conditions were in place.