Kenyans living abroad sent home KSh24 billion ($228.9 million) in March from KSh23 billion ($218.9 million) sent in February.
According to the Central Bank of Kenya data, the cumulative inflows in the 12 months to March totaled Ksh 303.6 billion (USD 2,838 million) compared to Ksh 291.2 (USD 2,722 million) in the 12 months to March 2019, reflecting a growth of 4.3 percent.
During the period, there was no decline, in remittances from the largest sources such as the US and UK said the CBK.
“However, the inflows from South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Mauritius and Oman declined, reflecting the impact of COVID-19,” according to its Weekly Bulletin dated April 24, 2020.
source: tradingeconomics.com
The Central Bank of Kenya conducts a survey on remittance inflows every month through formal channels that include commercial banks and other authorised international remittances service providers in Kenya.
Remittances in Kenya are the biggest source of foreign exchange, ahead of tourism, tea, coffee, and horticulture exports.
Most of the remittances came from the United States and Britain.
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The World Bank is projecting an estimated 20 percent global decline in remittances in 2020 due to the economic crisis induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown.
Sub Saharan African countries will see remittance flows drop by 23.1 per cent to $37 billion in 2020. In 2019 it dipped by 0.5 per cent to $48 billion.
“The anticipated decline can be attributed to a combination of factors driven by the coronavirus outbreak in key destinations where African migrants reside including in the EU area, the United States, the Middle East, and China.”
However, the bank forecasts there will be a 4 per cent recovery to $38 billion in remittances flows in 2021.
