The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) is betting big on Safaricom’s newly launched Ziidi Trader platform to dramatically expand investor participation — from just over one million registered accounts to a potential 30 million market participants.
The ambition was unveiled on Tuesday during the official launch of Ziidi Trader, a service that allows M-Pesa users to buy and sell NSE-listed shares directly from the mobile money app.
Stock Trading Inside M-Pesa
Ziidi Trader integrates equity trading into the M-Pesa Financial Services menu, eliminating traditional barriers such as separate Central Depository System (CDS) accounts, physical stockbroker onboarding, and additional identity verification processes.
Once a user has an active M-Pesa account, the trading option becomes accessible within the app. The platform combines onboarding, live price tracking, order placement, and settlement into a single, simplified interface.
Transactions are processed just like regular M-Pesa payments — funds are debited directly from the user’s wallet.
Unlike conventional investing models, individual users do not receive CDS accounts in their own names. Instead, customer trades are pooled into an omnibus account managed by Safaricom in partnership with licensed broker Kestrel Capital.
While the broker legally holds the shares, Ziidi Trader maintains internal records reflecting each user’s holdings.
Early Surge in Retail Activity
The NSE recorded its highest daily retail trading volume last Friday, with approximately 7,500 of 14,000 transactions executed via Ziidi Trader — only days after its pilot rollout.
Although the pilot accounted for just two percent of total market trade, the rapid surge highlighted the potential impact of embedding capital markets into Kenya’s most widely used financial platform.
Ruto: A Turning Point for Capital Markets
Speaking at the launch, President William Ruto described the platform as transformative, saying it would democratise access to investment opportunities, particularly for youth, women, and lower-income earners.
He noted that integrating stock trading into M-Pesa removes historical barriers that have kept many Kenyans out of capital markets.
Lower Costs, Wider Reach
Currently, equity trading costs range between 1.8 percent and 2.5 percent, but Ziidi Trader is expected to offer more competitive fees of around 1.5 percent, banking on higher transaction volumes.
With nearly 40 million active M-Pesa users, the platform instantly taps into an existing mass market.
The move is seen as Safaricom’s most significant expansion into wealth management, building on its earlier success with the Ziidi Money Market Fund launched in 2025.
NSE Chairman Kiprono Kittony said the platform places stock trading alongside everyday financial actions such as paying bills or buying airtime, significantly lowering both psychological and practical entry barriers.
While Kenya has over one million registered CDS accounts, fewer than 200,000 are actively used monthly, reflecting the challenge of attracting retail investors — especially younger demographics.
Ziidi Trader aims to change that dynamic by simplifying access and compressing what was once a multi-step process into a single digital experience.
As trading begins to migrate toward mobile-native platforms, the NSE hopes the M-Pesa integration will redefine how ordinary Kenyans participate in the stock market — potentially unlocking millions of first-time investors almost overnight.
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