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Uganda Listed Among Top Kyeyo Cash Recipients

Business Edge Reporter 17th Dec, 2023 Economy Business Edge
Uganda Listed Among Top Kyeyo Cash Recipients

A new report by the World Bank has shown that Uganda is among the top ten recipients of money from nationals working abroad, commonly referred to as 'kyeyo' cash, in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The report titled, "Migration and Development Brief 38" shows that Uganda's $1.3 billion remittance inflows from abroad in 2022 put us in 8th position in Sub-Saharan Africa, behind regional counterparts Kenya's $4.1 billion in the third position.

This reflected a growth of 17% compared to the previous year.

  • In the EAC region, Tanzania followed Uganda with $0.7 million while Rwanda garnered $0.5 million.

Tens of thousands of Ugandans have been leaving the country to find work abroad in recent years, with an estimated 1.5 million Ugandans currently living in the diaspora.

Tens of thousands of Ugandans have been leaving the country to find work abroad in recent years, with an estimated 1.5 million Ugandans currently living in the diaspora.

  • According to the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, almost 85,000 Ugandans went to work in the Middle East alone in 2021.
Uganda Listed Among Top Kyeyo Cash RecipientsTop 10 Kyeyo Recipients in SSA (2022)

Many of these Ugandans in the Diaspora are remitting cash to invest back home, to support relatives or depositing it on their bank accounts.

Official figures by the Bank of Uganda indicate that Kyeyo cash long surpassed earnings from the major cash crops and is currently almost three times the size of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Going forward, the report says remittance flows to the SSA region are projected to rise by 1.3 and 3.7% in 2023 and 2024.

However, the cost of remitting cash from abroad remains notoriously high in SSA, with senders paying an average of 8% - higher than the global average of 6.2%, and way above the Sustainable Development Goal target of 3%.

  • Globally, the top recipient countries of remittances in 2022 were: India ($111 billion), Mexico ($61 billion), China ($51 billion), the Philippines ($38 billion), Pakistan ($30 billion), Egypt ($28.3 billion), Nigeria ($20.1 billion) and Morocco ($11.2 billion).

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