Investing Back Home While Staying Abroad

Staying and working in the diaspora is always fun and comes with some sense of belonging and prestige. Family members and friends are always happy, and proud and want to associate with their kin/friend living and working abroad.

Kenyans in the diaspora are known within the economic and investment circles for sending cash back home. It is known as Diaspora Remittances. Sometimes they send home so much money that the Central Bank of Kenya is left with nothing but praise.

Kenyans living in the diaspora sent home a record USD 3.718 billion (Sh421.6 billion) in 2021, according to the data contained in the Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) Diaspora Remittance Survey (2021) despite the impacts occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The remittance inflows were the highest in 15 years, surpassing the previous record of Sh352 billion set in 2020, showing Kenyans’ commitment to remit cash home for various reasons with investments topping the reasons.

From the survey, remittances from Kenyans abroad are directed to family members who are self-employed, under-employed, or students.

About half of the total remitted during the year was allocated to investment in real estate (land and buildings) for recipients, mortgage payment for senders, and purchase of food and household goods.

The survey also confirmed the importance of mobile money operators and money transfer companies in addition to banks as the main channels for cash remittances. With Kenya setting records for advanced mobile banking systems and innovations within and without the continent, digital remittance has been rising in the past few years.

From the CBK Survey, one of the major challenges faced by Kenyans in the diaspora was getting the right information about where, how, and when to invest back home. Some said that they ran into losses after being misled by friends and relatives.

Stima Sacco, Kenya’s largest sacco in asset base and dividend-wise, has some great investment options tailored specifically to Kenyans living abroad. The investment options within Stima Sacco for diaspora Kenyans are under “term deposits.”

Term deposits are profit-bearing fixed deposit accounts offered by Stima Sacco to its members. These deposits provide convenient means of investment funds that are not required for immediate use on higher interest-bearing rates than Savings Accounts.

The Sacco has products such as Call Deposit. A call deposit account has no fixed deposit period, provides instant access to funds, and allows unlimited withdrawals and deposits. Features: Minimum of Kes 5,000.00, Attractive interest rate, Can be accessed upon demand without forfeiture of interest.

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