Kingsley Aikins is CEO of The Networking Institute based in Ireland which is a consultancy and training company that delivers online and offline courses in Networking, Philanthropy & Fundraising and Diaspora Engagement. He has done many Diaspora related projects with UN-IOM, ICMPD, GIZ, EUROMED and USAID as well as national governments and multinational corporations. 

He is an Economics and Politics graduate of Trinity College Dublin. For ten years he worked for IDA Ireland and The Irish Trade Board and was based in Sydney Australia and he was responsible for attracting foreign direct investment into Ireland and promoting Irish exports. He then ran Ireland’s largest Diaspora organisation, The Ireland Funds, based in the US. During his 21 years running The Ireland Funds over a quarter of a billion dollars was raised for projects of Peace, Culture and Charity in Ireland, North and South.  

Since returning to live in Ireland in 2010 and establishing The Networking Institute he, and his colleagues, have worked with over 30 countries, regions and cities helping them develop strategies to connect with their Diasporas. He developed the concept of Diaspora Capital that is made up of three flows – flows of people, knowledge and money. He has written and spoken extensively on the topic around the world. 

He lives in Dublin with his wife and three children