Kenyans abroad have the potential to send home Sh500 billion annually if the government supports them, a diaspora lobby group says.
Kenya Diaspora Alliance (KDA), which represents more than 30 diaspora organizations, said little or no support from the State has led to underutilization of the investment potential of Kenyans living and working abroad.
Last year, Kenyans in the diaspora sent home about Sh280 billion and this amount could double in a short time if the government took diaspora affairs seriously, according to KDA. In the nine months to September 2019, diaspora inflows stood at Sh215.6 billion with the World Bank projecting the total remittances for the year at Sh285 billion.
“This is possible because we have a case of 10 million Filipinos abroad who remit over Sh4 trillion a year to their country, yet there are about four million Kenyans in the diaspora who could easily be sending Sh500 billion every year,” said KDA Global Chairman Shem Ochuodho.
Ochuodho blamed the low Kenya diaspora remittances on inadequate State support, arguing that most of the money sent from abroad go down the drain through unplanned spending, with less than 30 percent going to meaningful investments.
Since 2015, diaspora inflows have been Kenya’s top foreign exchange income earner ahead of revenue from tourism, tea, coffee and horticulture exports.
In 2018, North America was the leading continent in terms of remittances with 47 percent, followed by Kenyans in Europe (24 percent) and the rest of the world (29 percent).
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