Published: July 7, 2026
Following the launch of Ziidi Trader, ordinary Kenyans can now buy and sell shares on the Nairobi exchange directly from their mobile phones.
In March, the Kenyan government launched its first major IPO in nearly 20 years. Kenya Pipeline Company’s privatisation was notable not just for breaking the longstanding listings drought, but also for the types of investors participating.
The IPO included a major outreach program to draw in and to expand retail investors. This effort was helped by the introduction of a newly launched app called Ziide Trader, which is a trading platform from Safaricom in partnership with the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). This platform, on the M-PESA app, allows ordinary Kenyans to trade shares on the NSE directly from their mobile phones.
The app had a fairly auspicious start with nearly half of the retail investors, some 36,043 from a total of 73,043 using Ziidi Trader to buy shares of Kenya Pipeline’s IPO.
“Historically, retail participation in capital markets has faced several barriers,” Aliya Khanbhai, head of consumer solutions at Safaricom, tells EMEA Finance. “These include limited access to information, complicated onboarding processes, perceptions that investing requires large amounts of money and the belief that trading is only for experienced investors. Ziidi Trader addresses many of these challenges by offering a more user-friendly and mobile-first experience.”
The listing, which raised KES 106.3bn ($823.1m), was dominated by local institutional investors, who secured 41% of the shares. Participation from individuals remained low, standing at just 2.56% of the total – a far cry from the government’s target of 20%. Nonetheless, Ziidi Trader succeeded in breaking down barriers for many people who would otherwise never have invested, with some coming in as low as KES 900 ($6.95).
“Traditionally IPOs have limited participation given the documentation required,” explains Khanbhai. “This was an opportunity to test Kenyans’ appetite for a digital application process and to include more Kenyans in this. It is ultimately about supporting greater financial inclusion.”
Since their average order is small, individual traders do not yet represent a huge proportion of total trading value on the NSE. However, they drive a significant percentage trading volumes. Before Ziidi Trader launched in February, the bourse was recording between 4,000 and 7,800 daily equity trades. Soon after launch, that figure reached an unprecedented 25,773 in one day. By June, around 84,000 ordinary Kenyans had bought shares on the bourse.
“The initial response has been very encouraging,” says Khanbhai. “We are seeing strong interest from users who appreciate the simplicity, accessibility and convenience of the platform. In fact, 60% of total trades on the Nairobi Securities Exchange are through Ziidi Trader.”
Keeping it simple