Kenyans living abroad sent home more cash in the month of February by 41.3 billion shillings compared to a similar period last year.
The latest Data from the Central Bank of Kenya indicates that last month’s remittances grew by 18.9 percent indicating a 28.4 billion shillings growth compared to 23.4 billion shillings despite Covid-19 misfortunes.
According to early World Bank predictions, sub-Saharan Africa remittances were to fall by 23.1 percent mostly attributed to the Covid-19-spurred economic crisis and lockdowns. However, the Kenyan situation has reported resilience in the face of these disruptors.
The cumulative inflows in the 12 months to February 2021 totaled 343.4 billion shillings compared to 308.5 billion shillings in the 12 months to February 2020, pointing to an 11.4 percent increase.
Notwithstanding, the amounts were much lower compared to 30.3 billion shillings sent in January.
Further, the data showed that the US continues to be Kenya’s main remittances market at about 19 billion shillings in the period, accounting for over 50 percent of month-to-month inflows.
This has also spelled better days for the forex reserve and the Kenyan shilling which has been pummeled negatively against the US dollar in recent weeks.
Diaspora remittances remain Kenya’s most significant foreign exchange source, followed by tourism, horticulture, tea, and coffee earnings.
