Diaspora remittances surge despite pandemic
By Noel Wandera, November 24, 2020
Diaspora remittance continues to withstand the Covid-19 pandemic onslaught as Kenyans living abroad wired a record Sh28.4 billion ($263.1 million) in October this year.
The figure represents a 17.3 per cent increment, compared to the same period last year, when inflows stood at Sh22.4 billion ($224.3 million).
Data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows that cumulative inflows in 12 months to October 2020 hit Sh324.6 billion compared to last year’s performance of Sh292.7 billion.
There was a dip in inflows in April after Covid-19 cases were announced by the Government in March, having registered Sh22.5 billion compared to Sh26.5 billion when compared to the same period last year.
Household budgets
A World Bank report for October 2020 ranked Kenya third in terms of diaspora remittances in Africa, having projected to reach $2.9 billion (Sh317.8 billion) this year.
The Bretton Woods institution report notes that Kenya is the only country in the sub-Saharan Africa region, where remittance inflows have tended to counter fluctuations in the economic cycle brought by pandemic shocks, though the report warns the inflows are likely to fall in 2021.
The higher flows are seen as crucial to the support of household budgets while anchoring the government’s foreign exchange flows.