The volume of daily equity trades on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) soared two or three times compared to previous levels after Safaricom launched its retail-focused Ziidi Trader platform in early February.
The new platform opens buying and selling shares to nearly 38m active subscribers of the M-Pesa mobile money platform and strips away layers of form-filling and minimum transaction amounts.
The daily volume of deals started to climb when Ziidi began pilot trading on 5 February. There were 25,773 trades in equities on 11 February, the highest recorded on the Nairobi bourse; this followed on from 14,300 deals on 9 February and 8,713 deals on 5 February. Between October 2025 and January 2026, the range had been 4,000–7,800 daily trades.
The NSE recorded 2.4bn Kenyan shillings ($18.9m) in value of equities traded on 10 February, $13.9m on 11 February and $10.0m on 12 February. The most actively traded shares included Kenya Power, Safaricom, KenGen, Absa, Co-op Bank, Equity, KCB, CIC, Kenya Airways and Britam.
Kenya’s President William Ruto launched the Ziidi platform at the Nairobi bourse on 10 February. He said it would transform and democratise capital markets, so Kenyans with low incomes could grow wealth using them:
“This platform represents a decisive turning point in how citizens engage with the stock exchange. It opens the doors of the market participation wider than ever before, dismantling long-standing barriers that have locked out many willing investors and bringing opportunity closer to all citizens.”
The national Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda in the government’s Fourth Medium Term Plan 2023-2027 prioritises inclusivity for the poorest Kenyans. The President said the capital markets are key for government to mobilise capital to deliver its Ksh5trn ($38.8bn) national transformation plan.
“We remain committed to working with all stakeholders to build markets that are deep, efficient and accessible, markets capable of financing innovation, empowering enterprise and advancing national priorities.”
Kiprono Kittony, NSE chairperson, said: “Today we are opening the doors of the Kenyan capital markets to millions of Kenyans, empowering them to engage, invest and grow their wealth through a simple, secure and innovative means incorporated on the M-Pesa platform.”
Dilip Pal, Safaricom’s Chief Finance Officer, said: “Ziidi Trader is a powerful step in democratising wealth for our customers. For 18 years, M-Pesa has transformed how Kenyans live, work and do business; we are extending that impact to how our customers build and grow their wealth.”
The NSE said it targets 9m active retail investors by the end of 2029. Previously published figures show 200,000 active participants among over 1.4m Kenyans who own shares (2.5% of the population).
Like many African markets, the NSE provided outstanding returns in 2025 and the first months of 2026. The NSE All Share Index closed on 12 February at 213.02, up from 209.65 the day before, after a strong climb in prices from a low of below 86 in November 2023.
How does Ziidi work?
The platform makes share trading easily accessible to all M-Pesa account holders and features in the menus of the mobile app near money transfers and bill payments.
Users opt in, select the listed companies they want to invest into, and execute the trades using their M-Pesa balances. Within the app, they can access corporate actions, portfolio analytics and real-time data on top movers.
Ziidi uses Kestrel Capital as its sole executing stockbroker on the NSE. Kestrel holds the shares in an omnibus account at the Central Depository System (CDS) operated by the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation.
This means that users do not need to go through the usual forms and Know Your Client (KYC) processes to open accounts with a stockbroker and the CDS. Kestrel, the NSE and CDS rely on Safaricom’s existing M-Pesa KYC credentials to admit users and facilitate trades.
Trades settle within the M-Pesa app and settlement after a trade is reportedly faster than the standard for equity trades on the NSE. Ziidi has indicated that it will charge fees of approximately 1.5% per trade, lower than the usual broker commissions and other charges, which total 1.8%–2.5% for each trade for both buyer and seller.
Previously Safaricom offered payments, savings and borrowing. In January 2025, it launched Ziidi Money Market Fund in partnership with two fund managers, Standard Investment Bank and ALA Capital. Savers can deposit as little as Ksh100 ($0.77) and interest accrues to the Ziidi wallet and compounds daily. By September 2025 the assets under management (AUM) surged to $11.6m and the number of active customers rose to 1.15m.
The company has also introduced Ziidi Shariah, offering inclusive, Shariah-compliant options. The Capital Markets Authority regulates the funds and the Ziidi Trader app.
Share offers, including the initial public offering (IPO) of Kenya Pipeline Company (due to close on 24 February), have also been featured on Ziidi.
kenya launches infrastructure fund
Kenya is launching a national infrastructure fund and a sovereign wealth fund, which will be capitalised using proceeds from sales of some of the government’s shareholdings in giant Kenyan companies such as Safaricom, Kenya Pipeline Company and East Africa Portland Cement Company (EAPCC).
They will finance projects such as roads and power plants, and ease pressure on public borrowing. The Cabinet approved the two funds on 15 December and the Cabinet memorandum notes they are part of the Ksh5trn ($38.8bn) roadmap to transform the economy.
It said: “Through innovative mobilisation of domestic resources, strategic monetisation of mature public assets, democratisation of ownership through capital markets and the deployment of national savings, the government will unlock large-scale private-sector capital to finance priority investments while reducing reliance on borrowing and taxation.
“Under the new framework, all privatisation proceeds will be ring-fenced and invested strictly in public infrastructure projects that generate and preserve long-term value.
“Every shilling invested through the fund is expected to crowd in up to 10 additional shillings from long-term investors, including pension funds, sovereign partners, private equity funds and development finance institutions.
“Both funds will be professionally and independently managed under clear governance, transparency
and accountability frameworks.”
The government aims to raise $2.7bn for the funds from share sales. In October President Ruto signed the Privatisation Act 2025, which took effect that month, and in November he signed the Government-Owned Enterprises Act 2025 to reform state-owned entities to improve efficiency and commercial viability.
The government has offered for sale a 65% stake in the state-owned Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) in a huge Ksh106.3bn ($825m) initial public offering (IPO). The offer had been due
to close on 19 February but, as we went to press, this was extended to 24 February. Local media reported a slow uptake.
The share price was set at Ksh9 each, with over 11.8bn shares on sale. KPC aims to list the shares and start trading on the NSE on 9 March.There has been significant debate in the Kenyan media on the valuation. Faida Investment Bank is the lead transaction adviser, the lead sponsoring broker is Dyer & Blair Investment Bank and the co-sponsoring broker is Francis Drummond & Co.
The government allocated 45% of the IPO shares to Kenyan investors including 5% to KPC employees, 20% to East African Community Investors, 15% to oil marketing companies and 20% to foreign investors.
KPC is a strategic monopoly. Its extensive network links Mombasa port to major centres across Kenya, including Nairobi and western Kenya. It also transports to five East African countries, with Uganda accounting for 65% of the oil, followed by eastern DRC, South Sudan, Burundi and Rwanda.