A widening conflict in the Middle East is raising concerns across Africa, where millions of migrant workers depend on Gulf economies for jobs and where remittances have become one of the continent’s most important financial lifelines.
The escalation, triggered by US–Israeli strikes on Iran and retaliatory missile and drone attacks across the region, is threatening economic stability in Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait, countries that host large African migrant populations.
Kenya alone has more than 400 000 workers in the Gulf, many employed in construction, hospitality, aviation and domestic services. Through the use of digital remittances, their earnings sustain families back home through regular digital money transfers.
Kenyan President William Ruto this week condemned the widening attacks, warning that the regionalisation of the conflict poses broader economic risks.
“It is evident that the regionalisation of this conflict poses a grave threat to international peace and security,” Ruto said. He called for urgent diplomatic engagement to de-escalate tensions.
Across Africa, the stakes are high where remittances have become one of the continent’s most reliable sources of foreign exchange. According to the World Bank, officially recorded remittances to low- and middle-income countries reached nearly $700 billion in 2024, with African economies heavily dependent on diaspora transfers.
Countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Zimbabwe and South Sudan receive billions annually from migrant workers in the Gulf.
CNBC Africa this week reported that the Gulf corridor has become one of the most important remittance routes for the continent, with millions of Africans working across the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait, regions now at the centre of rising geopolitical tensions.
Peter Otieno, a Kenyan construction worker in Riyadh, told DW that if conflict disrupts Gulf economies or airspace routes, migrant workers could face job losses, reduced working hours and delays in sending money to their families.
“Back home our families depend on the money we send. When tensions rise here, everyone worries whether contracts will continue,” he said.
For African fintech firms and remittance platforms facilitating billions in diaspora transfers, the crisis demonstrates how deeply the continent’s digital financial flows are tied to global geopolitics.
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