NRK’s: Non-Resident Kenyans
We’ve often heard of NRI’s (non-resident Indians) – These are Indians who who left their country in the 60′s and 70′s when the economy in India was closed and in the doldrums. However, as the years went by, this group began to thrive and they became an important link between India and the west, especially as the economy in India started to open up in the 1990′s. The NRI’s, especially the one’s who were based in California and who lived around Silicon Valley were the one’s who first introduced the idea of outsourcing to the Americans they worked with. They knew better than anyone else what their country had in terms of human resource talent.
I see a similar thing occurring with a similar group that I will now refer to as the NRK’s or non-resident Kenyans. The paper, Business Daily Africa has an article on the remittances they are sending back. They now surpass the dollar amounts that Kenya obtains from tea, coffee and tourism and the world bank, the IMF and the politicians are beginning to notice this important and growing economic group.
There’s sometimes tension when you talk to Kenyans who are based in Kenya because they think you can’t have an impact on the country unless you are physically based there, but guess what? these remittances are proving that theory to be incorrect.
I mean, in a few years, Kenya’s largest foreign currency import will be money from these remittances! The real estate boom is being fueled (in many ways) by money being sent back by these NRK’s. So, just like the NRI’s did 20 years ago, the NRK’s are today doing the same thing. It starts with remittances and then it expands into other things: like introducing Americans to their English-speaking country that may offer loads of cheap labor in the future.
I suppose the larger point one can take from this article is the border-less world that this global economy is creating. However, another more concerning point is that it once again highlights the problem of non-production in Africa: The remittances are making up the difference in a country that is not producing anything of real value.
Exports of tea and coffee have gone down. Tourism is still down after the election violence and if it wasn’t for these remittances, the economy would have sunk even further. You know why? because Kenya does not have oil and it’s not producing anything (outside of agricultural products, we produce nothing). The remittances are buffering the country against this lack of production.
As I was writing this article, someone said to me that Moi was the best thing that ever happened to Kenya. Why? because he was so effective at destroying the economy, that many Kenyans began to leave the country out of sheer economic desperation. Moi messed up the country so badly, that people were forced to broaden their horizons in search of greener pastures and they found those greener pastures in western countries that actually produce “stuff”. It is these Kenyans who are now propping up the economy with the billions of dollars they are sending back.
Everyone is hung up on Safaricom and IPO’s, but I think these remittances tell a much bigger and more important story.
true dat but tell the idiots…
NRIs are allowed dual citizenship if they are from the Western countries… why?
Coz the Indian gov’t has better brains than Kenya’s so-called gov’t…
The Indians know the NRIs will not move back home BUT will provide more ‘aid’ and jobs if they feel more “Indian”… look at why we lose the athletes to the mid-east waraabus… coz we do not allow dual citizenship…
The jamaas remain “Kenyan” at heart but are often harassed… let them be dual citizens and we all benefit!!!
KE
This is a good topic but I wonder why you are so late in coming to this realisation.
The Kenya High Commission in the UK hosted a delegation of Kenyan leading business executives and govt departments in London in Septemebr 2006 to woo us. I attended. There were seminars and workshops on how to invest in Kenya. I remember the meeting was so successul that people were opening accounts as late as 2.00 am in the morning! (Equity, Barclays, HFCK, NSE, Ministry of Finance and others made presentations).
The High Commissioner is organising another one for later this year.
Kenyans in the UK have been very liquid (for a reason I do not understand) and as you rightly say they have fueled the stock and property markets in Kenya. There are private companies that come here on a monthly basis offering Kenyans mortgages. As you can imagine, if you are earning in pounds, it is dead easy to finance a mortgage in Kenya.
As for the issue of production in Kenya, I do not think Kenyans are to blame per se. Remember that there is an unfair international trading system that has traditionally been biased against countries like Kenya. Even though Kenya grows tea and coffee, it has been unable to add value to these products and earn high prices because of international trade agreements.
Even in tourism, Kenyans do not get the bulk of the money. It is left in Europe by the companies that offer the packages. Kenyans only gain secondary benefits such as menial employment and the few dollars that the tourists spend in Kenya. It is sad really.
I agree with you though, that Kenya now has a chance to lay a good foundation in the information technology. Good policies, education, security and infrastructure are priorities. But as it were, Kenyans seem to be interested in perennial empty rhetorical politics instead of playing economic hardball.
How can you tackle the global market and competition when you are obssessed with one acre plots in Burnt Forest?
I forgot to add that I attended Raila’s meeting in London the other day. He promised that he will open a KENYAN DIASPORA desk in HIS office as soon as possible. This tells you how important we have now become.
By the way, Moses Wetangula had in his speech requested that the desk be opened in his Ministry of Foreign Affairs but Raila refused and said it will be opened in HIS office. I witnessed this mini-power struggle over the NRKs.
It is true the money we are now sending back is more than what Kenya gets from the World Bank and the IMF.
*****
A group of Zimbabweans in the UK is targetting to raise £15 Million pounds in readiness to invest in their country as soon as conditions allow. They are doing this through their own savings/contributions.
A group of Ugandans/Kenyans (myself included) is aiming to raise £1 Million in one year. We aim to have 1000 people contribute £1000 pounds over a period of one year. We will then invest as we see fit.
C U all when I am rich!
Hi
Thanks KE for the topic..
KEI O thanks for the great info~ Will ask you and other diaspora kenyans some questions…..As for now am rushing go watch olympic opening ceremony (am in nyeri now) …Great party we shall have as sport is very popular here~i like the ceremonies this are like musical /operas
south africa has gold, nigeria has oil, botswana has diamonds and congo has all these. but all kenya ever had was kenyans, and i hope they can, for once, come through for their republic.
Kei O- I am in the UK. Can we touch base? mainat@hotmail.com
this is all well and good but what of the exciting new development of Google buying Mobile Planet?
http://google-africa.blogspot......kenya.html
And to think some thought Google was in Africa for philanthropic reasons
A nexus is emerging between the talent and investment of Diasporans and transformative opportunities on the ground through salt of the earth wananchi that is very exciting, and I think companies like Google are at the right place at the right time. See report from White African on the changing mobile marketplace:
http://whiteafrican.com/
Kei O
This idea sounds viable. Imagine what Kenyans abroad could achieve if they organised themselves into such groups. They could raise some serious capital.
I think I heard about the Zimbabwean meeting through some friends. I hear huge amounts were raised on the very day the meeting was held.
Is this the future for Africans in the diaspora?
I wonder when Kenyans/Africans will stop whining and take their own destiny in their own hands. Can you imagine what an investment company can do with £10 milion pounds?
I also remember some Kenyans last year (also in the UK) were aiming to raise £20 Million to buy a container ship! I hear this business is booming.
Anyone willing to partner me and buy a ship?
slight correction of the term NRI i.e. Non Resident Indian… its got nothing to do when they first left India…NRI is an Indian citizen who has migrated to another country, a person of Indian origin who is born outside India, or a person of Indian origin who resides outside India. Other terms with the same meaning are overseas Indian and expatriate Indian… nothing to with the 60′s or 70′s
Ken:
Your wrong on this counter-point. Perhaps you should re-read what I wrote. It’s not about WHEN they first left india. I put that in to show WHY they left India.
And many of these NRI’s did in fact start leaving in the 60;s and 70′s when the Indian economy provided them with no economic opportunities. The reforms really started in the late 80′s when rajiv gandhi took over after his mother was assassinated.
So, it’s the same thing with the kenyans. When the economy tanked in about 1991, many of them were forced to leave and that’s when we began to see higher rates of migration out of kenya.
Josh:
Umm…you want to buy a freaking ship?
Sijui:
Do you know who founded that mobile planet company? Their website provides no biographical info. It’s certainly an interesting company that warrants a piece/commentary on this blog. hmm…let’s all start looking into what this company is about and post any info you find here.
http://www.mobileplanet.co.ke/work.html
KE
It wasn’t me. I wish it was me though…….
I just heard some Kenyans discussing this issue last year. I don’t know if they have met their goal. But I must confess that I did some research on ships on the internet and I realised that this idea is not as outlandish as it sounds. You can actually lease a ship. There are banks that specialise in this business.
By the way, I heard that there is a UK based Kenyan who has started a commercial airline in Kenya. I will update you as soon as I get more details.
Sorry for being late to post
Its true (almost) that No country ever made to a developed or emerging developed or fast developing without the GREAT diaspora (where the diaspora was based in advanced countries)
This true for Jews,Koreans,Chinese,Indians,Filipinos,Parkistanis,Iranians etc………
The all of western nations can be considered as one large diaspora because of the coctail of western nationalities resident in each other
some like jews left thousands of years…..
Africa whoever have the the largest DIASPORA of all humanites in USA ,Europe and Brazil over 100 Million have balck ancestry
However its only balcks who never had any IMPACT in the original homes (they never had a home …africans do not see themselves as one nation..perpetaul idp ism)
BUT the greatest ERROR is that HARAMBEE concept that is proposed (raising money to buy real estate back home etc)….I think this the backward element we have
NOTICE the things that made change in this emergent economies is Technology transfer NOT FUND TRANSFER……..Let me not give examples
SO PLEASE PLEASE Kenayns ARE you bringing back TECH knowledge or MONEY …Are you sportsmen (athletes then)! Money is like the proverbial Fish…ALL IS NEEDED is HOW TO FISH.
Lord
I think it is only a matter of time before Kenyans bring back the technology you crave for.
But let me ask you ask you something – how are you going to get an outsourcing contract when Kenya’s internet speeds are tortoise-like????? It is imperative that Kenyans lay down the necessary infrastructure for technological development. This is the work of the government. Perhaps we shall see a change when that Optic Fibre project is completed.
As for the funds that Kenyans are currently using to buy real estate, I don’t see anything wrong with that. That is the best opportunity for investment that they have so far identified in Kenya.
I think that you have fallen victim to the Kenyan syndrome of criticising without offering an alternative solution. Criticising for its own sake. A country of whingers and moaners…….
By the way, the diaspora funds are not only used to invest in Kenya, they are also used to invest here in Europe. I know of a group of Kenyan women here in the UK who bought a block of flats off-plan. They contributed £3000 each and got a 30% discount on the properties.
So if you don’t want the diaspora funds, they will be diverted elsewhere and we will just come there to spend pennies as tourists. That is the beauty of the market. Capital goes where it will get reasonable returns. Fortunately, the government realises the value of these funds and has a different view from yours.
*******
The investment forum I mentioned the other day will be held this August in London. Check the following website for details.
http://www.investin-africa.com
And I will be there. Infact, I have an interest in one of the Kenyan companies exhibiting. So – if you want to meet me, attend the event.
KEI O
You are right on CAPITAL…If we do not want you capital you can take it elswhere for maximal returns BUT you must also you must admit capital is like the ‘fish in the proverb’…it will keep us alive for a day
Again you are right on GoK…..to attract its Diaspora as investors (they are the easiest group to attract for obvious reosons): by ofcourse investing in infrastucture…comunications (ICT and roads). Justice/Courts efficency and efficent well educated labour (of which the Gok as done well)
BUT Gok is not short of Money…Its short of TECHNOLOGY….
By technogly i mean top notch techs in the tradiational sense of the word plus top notch legal ,financial,thinkers who have had the world class exposure enjoyed by the diaspora…..
Are our diaspora really upto it….are they ? !!arent’ most of them doing hospitality jobs akin to the filipinos…..
SOMETIMES am of the opinion Gok sends (airlifts) 100000 top students (10000) every yaer to high tech countries….This will achive a vision 2030 easily : Am All EARS
Lord
I think there is a misconception about the jobs that the diaspora engage in. Of course it is true that there is a number of the diaspora engaged in low skill employment but there is also a high number increasingly engaged in high skilled work.
If I give you a snapshot of the UK – majority of the UK diaspora arrived in the 90s during the economic devastation unleashed by the previous regime. 15 years later, many of them have moved on from the menial jobs and are into self-employment. Others have now brought their children who are currently graduating from universities all over the UK. It is this latter group that should be targeted to bring back technology and ideas. The older group has been very good in sending back capital – investing in real estate, stocks and shares and also paying school fees for others back in Kenya.
At the end of the day, the diaspora is not the panacea to Kenya’s economic problems. They can only be part of the solution. The ultimate solution lies in Kenya, with the Kenyans themselves. I think that expanding opportunities in education is one way of leveling the playing field. Of course, this needs provision of world class educational facilities.
But Lord, how do I set up an educational institution in Eldoret or Kiambu if I fear it is going to be burnt down at the next round of elections? Do you feel me? Nobody can do this fo Kenyans – they have to do it themselves.
******
How can Anyang Nyongo return people who had devastated medical parastatals? Is this how you increase efficiency and performance?I dont think so! It is these sort of decisions that scare investors away.
KEI O
Nothing will happen in Kenya till the politics is fixed. Period: None will invest in Kiambu or Eldoret or even Nairobi….for the future is not certain
DIASPORA
Yes the first wave of migrants always run awy due to adverse conditions home like potatoe blight for US irish,pogroms for the US jews,religious intolerance for the Germanics,poverty for the Italians
The second generation ones are still finding a footing …its the third ,fourth and fith……. generations that did transform their motherlands technlogy (you are right the motherlands must be ready before recieve them)
My Concern now is their is nothing binding Kenyans after the 1st geneartion…..Indians have hindusim,chinese,Japanese have thirs…Jews have judaism…This people do not assimilate to the diaspora culture..hence maintaining their identity….Now look
Obama is firts geneartion..he is so American he is running for white house…
I guess by 3rd generation Kikuyu/Luo/kalenjin diasporao will be as white as say Tony Blair
This guys wount come back: Hence no transfers whatsoever: Our cultures are very weak
comment mr keoi:
Lord
I think as KE rightly said, we have a new generation of diaspora. They are highly motivated and also politically aware. They realise that if Africa is weak, they will also be weak in their adopted countries. More importantly, we realise there is MONEY to be made in Africa. That is a good motivation for the diaspora to now get involved in Kenya or Africa at large.
On the issue of assimilation, it does not mean that a person who has assimilated well into their adopted country will no invest in their motherland. Jews are the best assimilated of all immigrants. Infact, they are so well assimilated that they no longer use their Jewish names. many of them are anglicized. However, they still play a part as far as helping their motherland id concerned. I think what matters most is a person’s values.
Yes it is also true that Africans have tended to discard their culture more easily than other people in the past – but there is a new trend where people are not losing sight of their past.
Infact, there is a concerted effort to involve even those who may have completely lost their roots e.g. African-Americans and the Caribbean people. Ghana is one country which has benefited from a scheme where they are encouraging African-Americans and Caribbean people to invest and settle in that country. A number have relocated and others have investments.
The main point however is that we first have to agree on how to run politics.
kei o & lord
you mentioned the government playing a role in diaspora investments. the daily nation of 11th august lists 120 new government employees (in the PMs office no-less). so are these new hires whizzes in international finance or computer geniuses? no, they are 60 copy-typists and 60 short hand typists.
with such hr decisions, it’ll be a long time before diaspora money finds a home in kenya!
[...] “We’ve often heard of NRI’s (non-resident Indians)These are Indians who left their country… when the economy in India was closed and in the doldrums…The NRI’s, especially the one’s who were based in California and who lived around Silicon Valley were the one’s who first introduced the idea of outsourcing to India to the Americans…I see a similar thing occurring with a similar group that I will now refer to as the NRK’s or non-resident Kenyans… The real estate boom is being fueled (in many ways) by money being sent back by these NRK’s…It starts with remittances and then it expands into other things”[KenyanEntrepreneur] [...]