The Nairobi Securities Exchange has marked a fresh milestone with the introduction of buying and selling of shares via M-Pesa.
This means that Kenyans looking to start trading in shares can now do so from their mobile phones. The buying and selling of shares via M-Pesa is being facilitated by Safaricom’s new Ziidi Trader platform that is available on M-Pesa.
Trades done through this platform will be processed by Kestrel Capital. Previously people looking to invest in the securities market were required to open Central Depository System (CDS) accounts.
Under M-Pesa, investors will not be required to open CDS accounts since M-Pesa will be pooling funds together from the investors, which will then be managed by Kestrel Capital.
The Ziidi Trader platform follows the successful launch of the Ziidi MMF which was launched in December 2024. The Money Market Fund allows Kenyans to invest their money directly from their mobile phones. It offers free deposits and withdrawals to and from M-Pesa, with the minimum amount one can invest set at Sh100.
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As at September 2025, Ziidi had 1.15 million customers representing an estimated 47.9 percent of the 2.4 million individual investors in unit trust schemes as per the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) June 2025 register.
To buy and sell shares on M-Pesa, investors under Ziidi Trader will not be required to open an individual share trading account with M-Pesa as has been traditionally happening.
“The solution makes coming to market seamless… Leveraging M-Pesa makes it fairly seamless, and there is the ability to scale given the platform is already used by millions of people,” NSE chief executive officer Frank Mwiti told the media recently.
The new way of trading in shares will mark a fresh milestone in the growth of Kenya’s financial markets, coming after the Centra Bank of Kenya allowed access to treasury bonds through mobile phones.
The CBK currently allows investors to pay for treasury bonds and bills through M-Pesa. This is facilitated through the CBK digital platform known as DhowCSD for transactions of up Sh250,000.
The DhowCSD platform was launched in 2023, and improvised to allow payments via M-Pesa in November 2025.
This platform allows investors to participate in treasury bills and bonds auctions, view auction results, check payment instructions, monitor upcoming corporate actions, and access their portfolio statements.
