Women emerge as key financial managers in Kenya's household remittance system

For quite some time, Kenyan social media has been treated to a familiar joke whenever the image of an attractive woman pops up.

Within minutes, comments appear asking whether she has already sent the inevitable text: “Tuma fare.”

The phrase has become part of Kenya’s digital culture, often used to portray women as perpetual recipients of financial support.

Memes, jokes, and online banter have built an enduring stereotype of women as constant beneficiaries of money transfers, while men are cast as the ones shouldering the financial burden.

But new data is challenging this perception, which has become part of daily banter in workplaces and social circles.

Far from being passive beneficiaries of financial assistance, women have emerged as the backbone of Kenya’s remittance economy, serving not only as the largest recipients of remittances but also as key senders and managers of family support networks.

Findings contained in the 2025 Remittances Household Survey (RHS) paint a picture of women as the invisible financiers who keep households and communities functioning across the country.

The numbers tell a story that social media jokes have largely missed. Of the more than 10.7 million people receiving remittances in Kenya, women account for 56.3 per cent, more than six million recipients.

At first glance, this appears to reinforce the common stereotype that more women than men receive money from relatives and family members. A closer look, however, reveals a far more striking reality.

Of the 1.12 million people who reported sending remittances, women accounted for 60.3 per cent. In other words, women are not merely recipients of money; they are also senders, and in greater numbers than men.

The data shows that women often play multiple roles in the remittance economy as recipients, providers, caregivers and household managers. Far from being passive beneficiaries, many are central to the flow of money that sustains families across generations.

Essential lifeline

The survey also found that remittance activity is predominantly rural, with most households sending and receiving remittances located outside urban centres.

The figures show how remittances have become an essential lifeline for many rural families, helping them cope with rising living costs, school fees, medical expenses and broader economic uncertainty.

Yet perhaps the most intriguing finding lies not in who sends money, but in how it is sent. The data reveals that men and women often take remarkably different approaches to supporting their families.

Among male senders, cash remains king.

The survey found that 338,000 men sent cash remittances, compared to 84,000 who sent in-kind support such as food, clothing, household items, or equipment. Another 24,000 men reported sending both cash and goods.

Women, however, displayed a different pattern.

More than 403,000 women sent in-kind support, making it the most common form of remittance among female senders. By comparison, 241,000 women sent cash.

The findings suggest that women are often thinking beyond the transfer itself, focusing on the specific needs of the households receiving support.

A bag of maize flour, school uniforms, a carton of cooking oil, household appliances, or even livestock can sometimes provide more security than cash, particularly in communities facing inflation and fluctuating market prices.

In many ways, women appear to be managing household welfare from a distance. The trend becomes even more revealing when viewed alongside recipient data: more than 2.7 million women reported receiving in-kind support, pointing to a wide network of women both sending and receiving goods that directly meet daily household needs.

The pattern reveals a strong culture of mutual support among women, with assistance flowing through family and social networks that extend across villages, towns, and even international borders.

Further, the survey reveals the pressure carried by Kenyans in their thirties, who make up the largest share of remittance recipients at 32.8 per cent and also the largest group of male senders at 42.2 per cent. This is a generation balancing children, housing costs, loans, careers and financial stability while also supporting parents, siblings and extended family, making remittances a constant feature of adult life.

The report further shows differences in remittance values by location and gender, with rural male recipients recording the highest amounts at about Sh404.7 billion.

Female recipients in rural areas received about half that amount in cash transfers, estimated at Sh203 billion, but also received substantial in-kind support worth Sh47.5 billion.

Urban areas present a different picture. Women in urban centres received more remittances than men, receiving Sh206.2 billion compared to Sh118 billion for their male counterparts.

Most of these urban remittances arrived in cash form, reflecting the economic realities of city life, where rent, transport, utilities and other expenses often require liquid money.

Beyond who sends and receives money lies an even more important question: what happens after the money arrives?

The answer provides one of the clearest insights into how the money is spent.

According to the survey, the largest share of cash remittances goes to food and household goods, with more than 73 per cent of respondents reporting that remittance income is used to meet these basic needs.

The finding underscores the critical role remittances play as a social safety net. For millions of families, this income does not fund luxury purchases but covers essential expenses such as meals, cooking fuel, soap, and other everyday necessities.

Education ranks as the second most common use of remittance income at 31.4 per cent, followed by medical costs at 23.9 per cent and clothing at 19.8 per cent,reinforcing the view of remittances as a survival tool rather than a pathway to wealth creation.

Gender breakdowns reveal clear differences in spending priorities: nearly 79 per cent of women used remittances on food and household goods compared to 66.7 per cent of men. Women were also twice as likely to spend on clothing and more likely to allocate funds to rent, utilities and social obligations such as weddings, funerals and graduations.

These spending patterns reveal more than personal preference, they point to the often invisible labour involved in holding families and communities together.

Sociologist Paul Mburu says these differences reflect long-standing gender roles within Kenyan society rather than differences in financial responsibility. “Women are often socialised and expected to take primary responsibility for the day-to-day welfare of families,” he explains.

As a result, when they receive remittances, Mburu observes, they are more likely to channel the money towards immediate household needs such as food, clothing, rent, utilities and social obligations that sustain family and community relationships.

“Their spending patterns demonstrate a caregiving role that prioritises household survival and social cohesion,” he notes.

According to Mburu, food and household goods represent the most basic necessities affecting family well-being, making the higher spending by women particularly significant.

He argues that expenditure on ceremonies such as funerals, weddings, and graduations should not be dismissed as unnecessary spending.

Instead, such spending reflects the important role women play in maintaining kinship ties and social networks that remain central to many African communities.

“Women are often the custodians of social relationships,” he says.

Gender roles

Men, meanwhile, show different priorities. The survey found that 36.1 per cent of male recipients used remittance income for education expenses compared to 27.2 per cent of women.

Men were also slightly more likely to spend remittances on medical expenses, at 25.2 per cent compared to 22.8 per cent for women.

A similar pattern emerged in farming, where 9.9 per cent of male recipients used remittances for agricultural activities compared to 6.4 per cent of female recipients. Mburu attributes these differences to traditional gender roles, which often position men as decision-makers in asset creation, income generation, and long-term investments.

He argues that the findings are less about financial responsibility and more about how gendered expectations shape spending priorities. At the same time, women often shoulder an overlooked economic burden, with higher spending on food, rent, clothing, and utilities underscoring their role in managing everyday household needs amid rising living costs.

For Gilbert Mwalili, a seasoned risk professional and founder of Risk Africa Innovatis, the findings are hardly surprising.

He argues that women have quietly become the financial custodians of many Kenyan households through a combination of social, economic and technological factors.

“In many Kenyan families, women handle day-to-day finances, including budgeting, school fees, food purchases and other household expenses. This makes them the natural recipients of remittances sent by family members living abroad,” says Mwalili.

According to him, trust is one of the most important factors shaping remittance flows. Diaspora workers often send money to mothers, wives, and sisters because they are seen as reliable stewards of household finances, particularly for education, healthcare, and essential needs.

Caregiving responsibilities further reinforce this pattern, as women are often responsible for children, elderly parents, and other dependents. Mwalili cautions against viewing women solely as recipients of remittance income.

Increasingly, women are using remittances to build businesses and create alternative income streams.

“Women are not just consumers of remittances. Many are using these funds to operate microenterprises and build economic resilience for their families. Remittances often serve as start-up capital or working capital for small businesses,” he says.

Across the country, countless women are using money received from relatives to stock kiosks, purchase farm inputs, expand retail businesses, or finance service-based enterprises.

The result is a ripple effect that extends far beyond individual households.

Money sent from a son working abroad may help his mother expand a vegetable business. Income generated from that business may then pay school fees for grandchildren, purchase farm inputs, or support another relative.

What begins as a remittance often evolves into a small but significant economic engine.

Digital infrastructure

Technology has also transformed the landscape. Kenya’s globally recognised mobile money ecosystem has dramatically lowered barriers to financial inclusion.

Services such as M-Pesa, combined with agency banking networks, SACCOs and chama structures, have made it easier for women to receive, save and redistribute funds.

“Technology has significantly lowered barriers to financial access. Women can receive remittances instantly through mobile money platforms and use established social networks to support other family members and community groups,” says Mwalili.

This digital infrastructure has effectively strengthened women’s role as financial managers.

Money can now move from a diaspora worker thousands of kilometres away directly into a village household within seconds.

The ease of access means women can respond quickly to emergencies, school requirements, medical bills, and other urgent family needs.

For policymakers, the findings present important insights.

Since women already manage a great share of remittance income, experts argue that targeted financial products could amplify the developmental impact of these funds.

Savings products, microcredit facilities, insurance packages, investment opportunities and entrepreneurship training programmes could help transform remittance income into long-term wealth.

Mwalili believes this should become a national priority.

“If women are already the primary managers of remittance income, then strengthening their financial literacy, business skills and access to formal financial services can multiply the developmental impact of these funds,” he says.

“Remittances should not only support consumption but also contribute to long-term wealth creation and economic growth.”

In many households, women have become the trusted custodians of family finances and the central link connecting relatives across counties and continents. So when the “tuma fare” joke circulates, the statistics offer a useful reality check.