Feb 24th 2021- Central Bank of Kenya data, shows that Kenyans abroad have sent remittances in January, with a growth of 7.3 percent from Sh28.4 billion to sh30.5 billion last month despite the continued struggles of the economic impact of Covid-19 pandemic in source countries.
CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge said, the continued growth of remittances has been driven by financial innovations, that have opened up more convenient channels for transactions.
The CBK is conducting its first-ever Diaspora Remittances Survey, which will be concluded next month, seeking information on inflows that will help guide policy and find ways of boosting the role of remittances in supporting the economy and livelihoods.
Last year, the inflows were greatly boosted by stimulus cheques in developed countries which served to plug households funding during the pandemic. Remittances are seen as an important cog to not just households’ income in the country but also government through their contribution of nearly one-third of the CBK’s usable foreign currency reserves which are used to partly settle external debt and cushion the shilling.
Last year, Kenyans in the diaspora sent home a record Ksh.341 billion or an equivalent Ksh.932 million shillings everyday. Kenya tops in diaspora remittances in east Africa and the amount received constitutes the single largest source of forex.