Thinking the Alternatives for Africa
FOREIGN REMITTANCE There are over two million Kenyans in the Diaspora and these form critical aspects of this nation’s development prospects. By the estimates from the Central Bank, the Diaspora financial remittance stood at US$ 891 in 2011. This figure was superseded by 21 percent in 2012 when the country recorded US$1.2 Billion for the foreign remittance and hit the record in 2013 when the country gained US$1.27 Billion. As clearly reflected, remittances are becoming a significant source of finance for Kenyan economic development. Estimates indicate that over 50 per cent of Kenyans in the Diaspora send money back home to their relatives who in turn use this money as a way to eke out a living in the country. In the household levels, these remittances are used as a finance base for basic needs like paying for housing, school fees, health care and food provision. To some extent, this very same money is used to in micro business and entrepreneurial investment activities which...