Diaspora Remittances to Kenya rise 12 percent in March -CBK

Kenyans living in the diaspora sent $141.1 million in March, a 12 percent rise when compared with the same month in 2015, the central bank said in a statement on Friday.

“The 12 month average flow to March 2016 therefore, increased to USD 133.3 million from USD 121.0 million in March 2015,” read the statement.

“Remittance inflows from North America increased by 11.0 percent and accounted for 48.8 percent of total inflows in March 2016. Inflows from Europe also increased by 4.8 percent while that from the rest of the world decreased by 14.2 percent. ”

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In 2015, remittances to Kenya rose 8.4 percent to a record $1.54 billion.

With improved remittances bank in to the country, Cytonn Investments says it has been a contributing factor in strengthening the Kenyan shilling which remained steady ending the week at Kshs 100.7. Other factors that have contributed include: the high levels of forex reserve currently at USD 7.6 bn, equivalent to 5.0 months of import covered.

A remittance is money sent by a person in a foreign land to his or her home country. Due to the huge sums involved, remittances are now being recognized as an important contributor to the country’s growth and development.