The Exchange Consortium
The single most efficacious Afrocentric platform — the IIAS Exchange (also called the Consortium) is the conglomeration of businesses owned by members of IIAS. The Institute is made up of high-powered scholars from diverse educational and professional disciplines.
For too long, the diaspora has been treated by African states as either a remittance source or a returning population to be managed.
The Consortium proposes a third frame: the diaspora as a working partner, organized into a network that can be drawn upon for specific scholarly, technical, or professional engagements. Members of the Consortium are not merely listed in a directory — they are paired with continental partners around concrete projects, with the institute providing the connective infrastructure.
In our view, this is the single most efficacious Afrocentric platform the continent currently possesses.
Coordinated From Port Harcourt
Coordinator · Deputy Director, IIAS
Dr. Aniemene serves as Coordinator of the Exchange Consortium and as a long-standing Deputy Director of the institute. He is a veteran entrepreneur based in Port Harcourt, on the Atlantic Ocean coast of West Africa.
His operational base in Port Harcourt — one of the continent's key commercial nodes — has positioned the Consortium at the heart of West African business networks while maintaining its distinctively scholarly character.
What the Consortium Does
When a continental partner needs a specific professional or scholarly skill, the Consortium identifies a diaspora member with the right credentials and brokers the engagement.
Some Consortium members come with their own ideas. The Consortium provides the institutional scaffolding — partner introductions, regulatory navigation, local liaison — that turns a proposal into a project.
For continental governments, multinationals, and large NGOs seeking diaspora input on programs at scale, the Consortium can convene panels of subject-matter experts on specific questions.
For continental institutions wishing to be listed as IIAS partners, the Consortium handles the accreditation review — credentials, governance, alignment of mission.
Joining the Consortium
The Consortium accepts both individual scholars and partner institutions on a rolling basis. Each application is reviewed by a panel of three current members.
Scholars, professionals, entrepreneurs, and practitioners of African origin in the diaspora.
Universities, foundations, NGOs, and businesses with operations on the African continent.
Inquire About Membership
Inquiries about Consortium membership should be directed to the institute's Coordinator. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
