Cash sent home by Kenyans living in North America hit a historic high of Sh15.7 billion ($145.95 million) in May, defying the tough economic situation facing workers in the region since the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

Data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows the remittances from the region, which includes Canada, the United States and Mexico, rose by Sh2.5 billion or 19.6 percent from Sh12.76 billion ($118.71 million) in April.

This saw North America deepen its share of total remittances to 56.5 percent of the Sh27.78 billion ($258.15 million) sent to Kenya in May.

This is in contrast with May last year when the region accounted for 48.6 percent of total remittances. The CBK singled out the US as among the countries which brought in the highest remittances.

The US leads the world in Covid-19 infections, and the number of job losses in the country crossed the 40 million mark in May due to the effects of the coronavirus

The Washington-based Pew Research Centre says some 90,000 Kenyans are currently living in the US, including as many as 30,000 without authorisation.

The CBK had tipped diaspora remittances to dip owing to job losses and salary cuts from the many Kenyans living abroad.

Major economies

However, the May remittances represented a recovery from a six-month low of Sh22.4 billion ($208.21 million) recorded in April.

The rise came in the period remittances from Europe also recovered from Sh3.75 billion ($34.9 million) to Sh4.59 billion ($42.65 million). Remittances from the rest of the world rose by 27 percent to Sh7.48 billion ($69.5 million).

The CBK reckons that remittances were boosted by recoveries in major economies abroad and by more ways to send cash, including straight to the recipients’ mobile phones.

Source: Business Daily Africa

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer.