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3 Million Kenyans Living Abroad Sent More Money Home Than The Whole Of East Africa

July 11, 2019

Kenyans living abroad are sending more money back home than their counterparts living in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and Ethiopia put together. World Bank data says Kenya’s Diaspora remittances in 2018 stood at Sh280 billion (about $2.7 billion), while a total of Sh242 billion was sent to the rest of Eastern Africa — comprising Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and Ethiopia.

However, this does not stop there. In the first five months of 2019, Kenyan Diaspora remittances stood at Sh118.9 billion, a 3.8 percent increase in the same period in 2018.

Here Are The Facts

A World Bank unit known as the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development prepared the report released in April 2019.
With these figures, remittances in Kenya have now become the biggest source of foreign exchange for Kenya, far more than Kenya’s tourism, tea, coffee and horticulture exports.
With these figures again, it means that in terms of contribution of remittances to the GDP of a country, Kenya’s now stands at (three percent), Uganda (4.5 percent) and Rwanda (2.4 percent) in the region, while Ethiopia saw the least contribution (0.5 percent) and Tanzania (0.8 percent).
This report is significant because it shows that between 2017 and 2018, the rate at which Kenyans sent money back home grew by 39%. The rate has even further increased in the first five months of 2019. Between January and May 2019, a total of Sh118.9 billion, representing a 3.8 percent increase on the same period in 2018, was sent back to Kenya

Where The Money Is Coming From

The money came from about 3 million Kenyans living abroad, many of whom have attained tertiary education and are working in the formal sector jobs.
North America, particularly the United States accounts for much of the Kenyans abroad remittances. At least, 45 percent of all the remittances came from that region. This is followed by Europe at about 23 percent while the rest of the world accounts for about 32 percent.
The US is a popular destination for Kenyans looking for greener pastures and further education, with the latter mostly remaining in the destination countries for work after graduation.
In recent years, however, the Middle East and China are also emerging as a choice destination for those looking for external work opportunities, in line with the rapid economic growth in these regions.

Why So Much Is Being Sent Back Home

Perhaps Kenyans are sending more back home because it has become easier to do so.
The Central Bank of Kenya has, for instance, identified the ease of sending money back home as a major factor in the sharp growth of Kenyans abroad remittances.
Local banks have entered partnerships with remittance service providers that allow them to handle larger volumes of inflows.
The expansion of the popular M-Pesa service beyond Kenya’s borders is also helping, with direct cash transfers on mobile making it easier for the millions who actively use mobile money to receive money instantly from relative abroad.
One of the biggest impediments to inward African remittances has over the years been identified as cost, partly attributable to the lower than global average penetration of formal banking in the continent.
The World Bank report shows that remittances to sub-Saharan Africa remain the most expensive across the different regions of the world.

“The cost was the lowest in South Asia, at five percent, while sub-Saharan Africa continued to have the highest average cost, at 9.3 percent.

“Remittance costs across many African corridors and small islands in the Pacific remain above 10 percent,” said the World Bank in the report.

It also helps if a country has a well-developed banking sector, which opens up formal channels of remitting money back home and reduces the cost of doing so.
Ease of movement of capital also helps. Countries that do not restrict the movement of hard currency are, therefore, likelier to attract foreign investment flows, which encourage the setting up of more robust support infrastructure for remitting money.

Kenya Is Fifth On the Continent As A Whole

Looking at the wide continent, Kenya was fifth last year in terms of volume of money remitted.

Egypt and Nigeria, which are two of Africa’s most populous countries and boast of a large diaspora, led the continent with inflows of Sh2.98 trillion ($28.9 billion) and Sh2.5 trillion ($24.3 billion) respectively last year.
Morocco and Ghana saw remittances of Sh760 billion (7.38 billion) and Sh391.4 billion ($3.8 billion) respectively to also come in ahead of Kenya on the list.
In East Africa, remittances stood at Sh128.4 billion for Uganda, Sh44.3 billion for Tanzania, and Sh42.4 billion in Ethiopia. Rwanda and Burundi had remittances worth Sh23.7 billion and Sh3.7 billion respectively, while there was no data available for South Sudan and Somalia for 2018 in the World Bank report.

“Remittances to sub-Saharan Africa were estimated to grow by 9.6 percent 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,” World Bank noted 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.’’

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

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Central Bank of Kenya Says Kenyans Abroad Must Bring Back Sh1,000 Notes

June 21, 2019

Kenya ’s Central Bank is issuing a serious last warning: no foreign bank will agree to take the old Kenyan Sh, 1000 notes. Hence, holders of such will have to bring them back to Kenya physically for conversion to the new currency.

”CBK Is Not Providing Any New Generation Bank Notes To Lenders Outside The Country”

The CBK boss said the regulator is also not providing any new generation bank notes to lenders outside the country to facilitate the conversion, arguing that this would defeat the goal of combating illicit money flows that have informed the move to demonetize the old Sh,1000 currency.

‘‘Anyone holding the old Sh1,000 bank notes outside the country will have to bring them back to exchange with the new currency before the October 1 deadline, Central Bank of Kenya,’’ (CBK) Governor Patrick Njoroge said.

CBK ruled out allowing any form of conversion of the old notes outside Kenya’s borders, indicating that the regulator had notified all foreign banks to stop recognizing the legacy currency.

“If you have the Kenyan currency and you happen to be outside the country, there is only one way to get value for it before October 1. You have to take a trip here and go through the procedures outlined in the gazette notice and subsequent releases,” said Dr Njoroge at a press briefing yesterday.

“You cannot convert it to any other currency out there, since this would defeat the process of demonetisation.”

Those coming into Kenya to convert their notes will follow the same procedures laid out for locals. Converting between Sh1 million and Sh5 million is happening at all commercial bank branches, where customers are expected to make declarations on the source of their cash.

Persons exchanging more than Sh5 million will need to get an endorsement from CBK, as will those exchanging more than Sh1 million but do not have bank accounts.

Dr. Njoroge added that the net has been cast wider to forestall efforts to clean dirty money in other jurisdictions that carry out significant financial transactions with Kenya.

Both the Bank of Uganda and the Bank of Tanzania Issued Notices Earlier This Month Freezing the Conversion of the old Kenyan Notes in Their Banks

Both banks have also advised their countries’ banks to subject all flows to higher due diligence processes.

The Kenyan shilling is commonly used to transact goods and services in neighboring countries, especially now that East African Community rules allow free movement of people and goods across regional borders.

Anyone holding the old Sh1,000 banknotes outside the country will have to bring them back to exchange with the new currency before the October 1 deadline.

The shillings find their way back home through the same trade routes, as well as official currency repatriation mechanisms between the central banks of the respective countries in the bloc.

The CBK has ruled out making an extension to the October 1 deadline for the demonetization process, saying that doing so would provide those looking to get rid of illicit funds a loophole to do so.

The new notes contain features that are identifiable by touch to accommodate the visually impaired, which cannot be put on a polymer note.

Taking into account the rough handling of Kenyan banknotes that produces rapid wear and tear, CBK applied varnish on the notes that will allow them three to five years of usage, 30 percent longer than the older notes they are replacing.

Polymer notes on average last two-and-a-half times longer than cotton paper, but are twice as expensive.