If You Build It, They Will Come: A Motto for Africa’s Economic Liberation

August 21, 2025

By Peter Grear, with AI assistance

In 1989, the film Field of Dreams introduced the world to a haunting yet hopeful line: “If you build it, he will come.” The original phrase was deeply personal—about reconciliation between a father and son—but over time, it has been reshaped into the more familiar cultural motto: “If you build it, they will come.”

Beyond cinema, this misquoted line has become an anthem for dreamers, visionaries, and builders in every field—from entrepreneurs to community leaders. And today, it may hold a deeper relevance for Africa and its global diaspora than ever before.

The Power of Visionary Preparation

At its core, “If you build it, they will come” is about acting with faith before the evidence is clear. It reminds us that great movements, businesses, and nations are not built in response to demand—they are built in anticipation of it. The infrastructure must exist before people gather. The stage must be set before the audience takes their seats.

For Africa, this lesson is both timely and urgent. The continent holds vast reserves of natural resources, one of the youngest populations in the world, and a diaspora with skills, capital, and creativity unmatched in history. Yet too often, opportunities are missed because the structures to absorb and channel this power are absent.

Building those structures—legal, economic, cultural, and technological—is the call of our time.

Building the Field: Africa’s Economic Infrastructure

The Right of First Refusal (RoFR) movement exemplifies this principle. For too long, Africa’s resources and markets have been exploited by external powers while Africans, both at home and abroad, watch from the sidelines. RoFR proposes a corrective: before non-African entities can seize opportunities, African nations and their diaspora must have the first option to invest, to build, and to own.

Implementing RoFR legislation, creating diaspora investment funds, and strengthening local chambers of commerce are all forms of “building the field.” Even if the crowd has not yet gathered—even if initial steps seem small—laying this foundation signals readiness. And once it exists, the diaspora and future generations will come.

Media and Narrative: Building the Story First

The phrase also applies to media and storytelling. Too often, Africa’s story has been told by outsiders, framing the continent as dependent or broken. But platforms like The Economic Liberation of Africa podcast, Greater Diversity News, and countless grassroots initiatives prove otherwise. By building a narrative space where Africa’s agency, vision, and brilliance are centered, the community is slowly but surely showing up.

The field doesn’t have to be perfect before people arrive. What matters is that it exists. When Africans and diasporans see themselves reflected with dignity and purpose, they are drawn to support, share, and invest in the mission.

Diaspora Engagement: The “They” Who Must Come

When we reinterpret the motto for Pan-Africanism, the “they” becomes clear:

• The diaspora entrepreneurs who hold capital, networks, and skills.
• The African youth who represent the continent’s unmatched human potential.
• The global allies who believe in justice, equity, and shared prosperity.

But here is the truth—none of these groups will come if the field remains unbuilt. Goodwill alone does not create movements. The diaspora will not invest into disorganized pipelines. Youth will not thrive without policies that protect and promote them. Allies will not rally around a fractured message.

Building is the prerequisite. Coming is the result.

Faith in Action: A Pan-African Blueprint

This is why initiatives like diaspora business summits, Pan-African podcast networks, and grassroots entrepreneurship incubators matter so deeply. They are not just small projects; they are symbolic cornfields carved into fertile ground. They prove the motto right.

Every African-led business opened in the diaspora, every law passed to protect local ownership, every partnership forged between African chambers of commerce and global Black networks is part of building the field.

The message is clear: if Africa and its diaspora prepare the stage, the audience of history will not only arrive—they will stay, invest, and multiply.

Conclusion: From Motto to Movement

The line from Field of Dreams endures not because it was whispered, but because it was proven. A farmer built a baseball field against reason, and people came. Africa’s future requires the same kind of daring.

Our leaders, entrepreneurs, and visionaries must build the policies, platforms, and narratives of tomorrow today. Our diaspora must answer the call not with hesitation, but with faith. And our global family must recognize that the time for waiting is over.

The motto is no longer just a cinematic line—it is a Pan-African blueprint:

If we build it, they will come.
If we unite, we will own.
If we believe, Africa will rise.