The Nairobi Securities Exchange added 49,363 new investor accounts in the year ended December 31, 2025, lifted by the prospects of new listings and the introduction of a single-unit trading, which has allowed small and retail investors to buy and sell single shares in multiples of one.

Data from the NSE shows the bourse’s share accounts increased by 4.55 percent to 1,132,366 in 2025, from 1,083,003 in 2024 ,in a market experiencing significant growth boosted by retail interest and strategic initiatives such as fractional trading and Sacco listings.

NSE’s market capitalisation (the total value of listed shares), which represents the wealth of the shareholders, surged by Ksh1 trillion ($7.746bn) in 2025, with the global investment advisory firm Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Inc singling out the Nairobi bourse as the market that offered the second highest dollarised returns in Africa, after Egypt Stock Exchange in the year 2025.

NSE amended its equity trading rules that effectively allowed investors to start buying and selling shares in single unit from July 29, providing greater flexibility for investors, reducing entry barriers, and encouraging wider participation, particularly from retail investors who have previously found it difficult to invest due to the previous high minimum trade size of 100 shares.

David Wainaina- the bourse’s Head of Trading, Data & Analytics says the introduction of one-share trading has significantly deepened market participation, with the number of deals more than tripling to 471,321 deals between July 29 and December 2025 compared to 147,138 deals in the same period the previous year (2024).

Trading volume increased by 17 percent to 2.92 million shares from 2.48 million shares while market turnover increased by 48.12 percent to Ksh79.26 billion ($614.41 million) from Ksh53.51 billion ($414.8 million) in the same period.“This sharp increase indicates a substantial rise in retail and small-ticket investor activity, reflecting lower entry barriers and improved market accessibility,” Mr Wainaina told The EastAfrican in an interview on January 21.“While the growth in traded volume was more modest at 17.49 percent, the disproportionate increase in trades relative to volume suggests a fragmentation of order sizes, consistent with increased participation by smaller investors rather than a reliance on block trades.”In November last year, NSE’s market capitalisation crossed the Ksh3 trillion ($23.23bn) for the first time, amid a market rally boosted by increased corporate earnings , prospects of healthy dividends and the investors search for better returns in equities away from bonds which are facing lower returns as interest rates decline.“Overall, the data demonstrates that one-share trading has successfully broadened market access, stimulated trading activity and strengthened liquidity without distorting market value, supporting its role as a market-deepening reform rather than merely a volume-driven intervention,” says Mr Wainaina.

The government’s privatisation programme which has entered into a high gear with the listing of the Kenya Pipeline Corporation (KPC) has added an impetus to the stockmarket, breaking the prolonged initial public offering (IPO) drought and marking a monumental development, not only for Kenya but for East Africa’s capital markets.

“In many ways, this transaction provides a blueprint for ‘new age’ privatisation, where public interest entities are restructured to attract long-term investment, enhance public trust, and support sustainable development,” says Frank Mwiti, NSE’s Chief Executive.“We saw similar momentum during Kenya’s privatisation wave in the early 2000s, and the current environment, with strong investor appetite and advancing regulatory frameworks is ideal for a revival.”The National Treasury launched the KPC IPO on January 19, offering Kenyan, regional and foreign investors the chance to own stakes in the petroleum logistics company. The IPO is widely seen as a catalyst for long-delayed listings across East African exchanges, particularly in countries that are actively seeking to revitalise their stock markets.

The IPO whose sale period runs until February 19, has been priced at Ksh9 ($o.o6) per share and it is expected to generate gross proceeds of Ksh106.3 billion ($824.03 million) if fully subscribed.

Treasury is selling 65 percent stake, equivalent to 11.81 billion shares in the company where Kenyan retail investors have been allocated 20 percent (2.36 billion shares), Kenyan institutional investors (20 percent), oil companies operating in Kenya (15 percent) and KPC employees (five percent).

Foreign and regional investor pools have been allocated 20 percent of the shares each.

The National Treasury expects to raise Ksh149 billion ($1.15 billion) from the sale of state-owned corporations to finance its programmes in the current fiscal year (2025/2026).

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) says the listing of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) will break the trading monopoly by few large firms on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and give retail investors more investment options.

It will also save the stockmarket from other concentration threats such as heightened market volatility, reduced portfolio diversification benefits to investors and increased systemic and market manipulation risks.

NSE is also pushing for the listing of the Savings and Credit Co-operative Societies (saccos) on the stockmarket to boost trading activities and unlock millions of dollars of share-capital forfeited by former sacco members on grounds that these shares are non-refundable and that they can only be transferred toNSE is targeting the Saccos and Chamas to increase pool of active investor base to nine million investors over the next five years (2025-2029).

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