Remittances from Kenyans in Diaspora outdo the Six EA Countries

Kenyans in the Diaspora have out competed the rest of Eastern African countries combined after sending back home Sh280 billion. This is according to the latest report by the World Bank.

According to the report, diaspora communities from Uganda, Tanzania Rwanda, South Africa, Burundi and Ethiopia remitted a total of Sh242 billion, which is Sh38 billion less than that remitted by Kenyans in Diaspora.

Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development, the group which did the report said that 2018 remittance recorded a 39 per cent growth as compared to 2017.

This year, Sh118.9 billion was remitted into the country within the first five months, a 3.8 per cent increase compared with the same period last year.

“Remittances to sub-Saharan Africa were estimated to grow by 9.6 per cent from $42 billion in 2017 to $46 billion in 2018. Projections indicate that remittances to the region will keep increasing but at a lower rate, to $48 billion by 2019 and to $51 billion by 2020,” said the World Bank in the report.

“The upward trend observed since 2016 is explained by strong economic conditions in the high-income economies where many sub-Saharan African migrants earn their income.”

The significant growth in remittances can be said to have been highly brought about by the increased investments products launched by commercial banks with the target of Kenyans in the Diaspora as they give them cheaper means of money transfer.

Kenyans in the United States contributed the largest share of the remittances at 45.6 per cent whereas North America takes the lead by 47 per cent, followed by Europe (24 per cent) and the rest of the world (29 per cent).

Kenya has been recording vast amounts from Kenyans living in Diaspora since 2015, hence becoming the country’s top foreign exchange income earner.