Kenya Urges Diaspora to Invest at Home as Australia Exhibition Highlights Bilateral Ties

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 2 – Kenya has urged citizens living abroad to channel a greater share of their remittances into investments at home, as the country seeks to deepen economic and people-to-people ties with Australia.

Speaking at the opening of the Kenya-Australia: Faces of Connection photo exhibition at Shah Houses in Ngara, Nairobi, Ambassador Isaiya Kabira, Secretary for Diaspora Investments, Skills and Entrepreneurship at the State Department for Diaspora Affairs, said diaspora remittances were making a significant contribution to the economy.

Kabira put annual remittances at about $7 billion and called on Kenyans abroad to consider investing more of their earnings in the country.

“Today, the earnings that we get from Kenyans in the diaspora are now in the tune of about $7 billion,” he said.

He noted that about 80 per cent of remittances went towards consumption, while only 20 per cent was directed towards investment. He urged Kenyans overseas, including those in Australia, to explore opportunities to invest in Kenya while continuing to support their families.

According to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), formal diaspora remittances reached approximately $5.04 billion in 2025, up from $4.95 billion in 2024.

The 2025 Remittances Household Survey, conducted by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), CBK and Financial Sector Deepening Kenya, recorded Sh931.8 billion in remittances received by Kenyan households between June 2024 and May 2025.

The survey included informal transfers and non-cash remittances, offering a broader picture of the money and goods received from abroad than the CBK’s formal-channel figures.

Australia was among the major sources of remittances to Kenyan households, ranking behind the United States and Germany.

Kabira, a former Kenyan High Commissioner to Australia, said relations between the two countries had expanded across trade, tourism, agriculture, health, mining and security.

He said the exhibition highlighted the contribution of personal and professional exchanges to cooperation in these sectors.

He also recognised Kenyans working in Australia’s health and disability support sectors, particularly under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), saying their participation demonstrated the opportunities available to Kenyan professionals abroad.

Kabira renewed calls for direct flights between Kenya and Australia, suggesting that a Nairobi-Perth route could reduce travel time and improve connectivity.

He said the proposal had been presented to Kenya Airways over the years and expressed hope that it would receive further consideration as trade, tourism and people-to-people exchanges expanded.

Australian Chargé d’Affaires to Kenya Andrew Barnes said the exhibition sought to highlight the personal relationships that have helped shape ties between the two countries beyond formal diplomatic engagements.

“International relations can be surprisingly personal. Governments provide the framework, but relationships between countries grow through the people that bring them to life: through the friendships they form, the ideas they exchange and the opportunities they create,” Barnes said.

Held under the theme People. Partnerships. Possibilities., the exhibition features photographs and personal accounts of Kenyans and Australians whose experiences have contributed to cooperation in education, business, culture and tourism.

Among those featured is Kenyan medical practitioner Dr Florentius Koech, who undertook specialist neurosurgery training in Melbourne before returning to Kenya to establish a specialist brain and spine hospital in Eldoret.

The exhibition also features Kenyan-born musician Elsy Wameyo, who grew up in Adelaide and has developed a music career shaped by her experiences in both countries.

Barnes said such experiences demonstrated how education, professional opportunities and personal relationships could strengthen cooperation.

The exhibition comes as Kenya and Australia seek to expand collaboration in trade, investment and other sectors, following the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025.

During anniversary engagements in October 2025, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei identified tourism, mining, innovation and sports as areas where Kenya was seeking increased Australian investment and cooperation. The two countries also expressed interest in strengthening maritime security ties.

Kabira cited sporting exchanges as another example of the relationship, pointing to Kenyan athlete Eliud Kipchoge’s victory at the Melbourne Marathon on October 11.

Kipchoge won the race in two hours, nine minutes and ten seconds, setting a new event record.

Organised by the Australian High Commission, the exhibition features Kenyans who have studied or worked in Australia, those who have established careers there, and Australians whose professional and community activities have contributed to initiatives in Kenya.

The public can visit the exhibition free of charge at Shah Houses in Ngara, Nairobi, from October 30 to November 1, 2026.