Liberia: Koimene Meets Pres. Boakai, Says Diaspora Investment Must Go Beyond Sending Money Home

MONROVIA — Liberian entrepreneur and jeweler Samuel Koimene says his recent meeting with President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has reinforced his conviction that Liberians living abroad must become more actively involved in the country’s development through investment, knowledge transfer, and partnerships with local stakeholders.

By Francis G. Boayue

Koimene’s meeting with President Boakai in Monrovia followed an earlier encounter with the Liberian leader in Sacramento, California, where he presented customized watches to President Boakai and First Lady Kartumu Yarta Boakai.

According to Koimene, the subsequent meeting in Liberia provided an opportunity to discuss the country’s development challenges and the potential role of Liberians in the diaspora in addressing some of those challenges.

The encounter also takes place against the backdrop of Koimene’s own seven-year experience working and investing in Liberia, focusing on youth development, community initiatives, and entrepreneurship.

For Koimene, returning home after years in the United States has required more than bringing financial resources.

He says it has required patience, adaptation, and an understanding of Liberia’s business and institutional environment. “I’ve learned that the lessons we gain overseas cannot remain overseas. At some point, you have to take those lessons home and combine them with the knowledge of the people already here.”

Koimene grew up in Bankeys Town and Bikano before Liberia’s civil conflict forced his family to move through different parts of West Africa, including Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.

In 2003, the family relocated to the United States and settled in Lynn, Massachusetts. His early years in America were marked by the challenges of adjusting to a new environment. Koimene says he encountered bullying and pressure to become involved with gangs but was determined not to return to the violence he had experienced during Liberia’s civil conflict.

He later distinguished himself as a track-and-field athlete before entering the workforce after high school. At one point, he worked at Giant Food, pushing shopping carts and bagging groceries while taking on other jobs and learning the jewelry trade.

“That humbled me. You go from being on a pedestal to pushing carts. It challenged me to say my current situation can’t be the end of my story.”

That period, Koimene says, shaped his understanding of work, perseverance, and the importance of building gradually.

Koimene eventually established himself in the jewelry business while continuing to work with young people through leadership development, youth counseling, and community programs in the United States.

Koimene’s connection to Liberia eventually evolved into a more structured effort to support young people and communities.

In 2019, he returned to Liberia and began working with six local leaders under Kingdom Athletes Liberia — Christian Mah, Essie Danku, Moses John Willie, Odell J Joseph, Victor Gattuso Garway, and Yorguelleh Garteh. What began largely around football later expanded into education, mentorship, women’s empowerment, community outreach, and support for elderly Liberians.

The organization’s work has also included assisting students, providing sporting equipment and uniforms, and supporting vocational opportunities for young women.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Koimene and his colleagues mobilized approximately L$2 million to provide food and sanitation supplies to more than 300 families across several Liberian counties.

But beyond the financial contributions, Koimene says the experience has taught him the importance of building local capacity and trust. He says initiatives brought from abroad cannot succeed simply because resources are available. They must be adapted to local realities and implemented with people who understand the communities in which they operate.

Koimene acknowledges that his seven years of working and investing in Liberia have not always produced immediate results.

The experience, he says, has required him to adjust expectations shaped by his experience in the United States and to better understand how businesses, institutions, and community initiatives operate locally.

“Sometimes you come with an expectation of how things should work because of what you have experienced outside,” he says. “But Liberia has its own realities, and you have to understand those realities if you want your investment to last.”

That experience has also influenced his view of diaspora engagement. Koimene believes Liberians abroad should not limit their contributions to remittances or short-term charitable interventions. He argues that the diaspora possesses professional expertise, capital, technology, international networks, and business experience that could be applied more directly to Liberia’s development.

“We have an opportunity today to participate in owning Liberia’s future instead of waking up years from now and realizing everybody saw the value in our country except us.”

Against that background, Koimene says his meeting with President Boakai was significant because it provided an opportunity to discuss how Liberians abroad can become more involved in the country’s development.

His earlier encounter with the President in Sacramento, where he presented the customized watches, eventually led to the meeting in Liberia.

Koimene says the engagement strengthened his interest in spending more time in Liberia rather than contributing primarily from the United States.

He believes returning Liberians should work alongside those already operating in the country instead of simply importing models developed elsewhere.

“Don’t invest in Liberia if you’re not willing to invest in Liberians.” For Koimene, that means creating employment, transferring knowledge, developing local entrepreneurs, and establishing businesses capable of operating beyond Liberia’s borders.

He believes Liberia needs private-sector growth alongside philanthropy, with more Liberian-owned companies developing the capacity to compete regionally and internationally.

“My overall goal isn’t just Liberia — it’s Africa. I want to help create more Liberian leaders. I want to help create more Liberian millionaires. I want to see Liberian businesses that can compete globally.”

Following seven years of investment and engagement in Liberia, Koimene says his perspective on returning home has changed. His experience, he says, has demonstrated that diaspora investment is not simply about bringing money back to Liberia. It is about understanding the country, working with people on the ground, accepting the time required to build sustainable initiatives, and creating opportunities that remain useful beyond the individual investor.

For Koimene, the meeting with President Boakai has added another dimension to that experience: the possibility of greater collaboration between government, local entrepreneurs, and Liberians abroad as the country seeks to expand opportunities for its people.