The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) is eyeing a pipeline of high-profile state-owned corporation listings and renewed investor confidence. It says 2026 is a breakout year for Kenya’s capital markets, with the value of listed shares crossing the Ksh3 trillion ($23.25 billion) mark in 2025.

The bourse says more debt and equity transactions are in the pipeline after the listing of the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) shares on March 10, which ended more than a decade of initial public offering (IPO) drought.“We are very encouraged by the strong pipeline of both debt and equity transactions coming to market this year,” NSE chief executive Frank Mwiti told The EastAfrican. “The growing interest we are seeing from issuers across sectors demonstrates increasing confidence in Kenya’s capital markets as an efficient platform for long-term capital raising.”The government’s privatisation programme has given impetus to the stock market.

Read: NSE rejoins regional capital markets after decade-long boycottThe National Treasury is mainly targeting the proceeds of privatisation to fund its infrastructure projects and reduce public borrowing. At least 11 state-owned corporations have been lined up for sale on the NSE.

The bourse says the oversubscriptions for the East African Breweries Ltd (EABL) bond valued at Ksh11 billion ($85.27 million), Safaricom’s Ksh15 billion ($116.27 million) green bond, Ksh44.79 billion ($347.2 million) Talanta Asset-backed Security, and the Ksh106.3 billion ($824.03 million) KPC IPO helped re-energise conversations around the market and reinforced investor appetite for quality issuances, both on the equity and fixed income side.“Importantly, this renewed activity is not just about one transaction, but part of a broader market evolution driven by stronger investor participation, product innovation, digitisation, and closer engagement with issuers and intermediaries,” Mr Mwiti said.“We remain optimistic about the outlook for the market in 2026 and believe the increased pipeline signals a deeper and more vibrant capital market ecosystem for Kenya and the region.”Among the disclosed upcoming deals are Family Bank by way of introduction, I&M Bank’s Ksh10 billion ($77.51 million) bond, Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC)’s Ksh3 billion ($23.25 million) sustainability bond, Park Inn REIT (Income REIT), Trific Green REIT (USD-denominated Green REIT), and Spearhead Africa Asset Management Ltd (infrastructure fund).“We have others in the pipeline, which we will disclose once the approvals are finalised,” Mr Mwiti said. “This momentum is a reflection of the successful implementation of our five-year strategic plan and the acceleration of the gains achieved in 2024, which saw the NSE ranked as the best-performing exchange in Africa.”“As NSE, we are fully prepared to support these upcoming listings. Over the last few years, we have continued to strengthen our market infrastructure, trading systems, issuer support frameworks, and investor education initiatives to ensure seamless execution and efficient market operations even as transaction volumes grow.”The NSE added 49,363 new investor accounts in the year ended December 31, 2025, lifted by the brightening prospects of new listings and the introduction of single-unit trading, which has allowed small and retail investors to buy and sell single shares of listed companies.

Read: Kenya Pipeline IPO faces scepticism from Ugandan investorsData 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 currently experiencing significant growth boosted by retail interest and strategic initiatives like fractional trading and SACCO listing, aiming to attract millions more investors.

The NSE shrugged off the spillover effects of the ongoing war in the Middle East to post significant growth in share prices in the three months to March 2026, pushing up shareholder wealth by 57.13 percent to Ksh3.23 trillion, demonstrating resilience amid increased participation by local investors.

Data from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) shows the market value of all listed shares (market capitalisation) grew by 57.13 percent to Ksh3.23 trillion ($25.03 billion) from Ksh2.05 trillion ($15.89 billion) in the same period last year, reflecting a continued bull run despite US and Israel attacks on Iran, which disrupted global supply chains, pushed up fuel, gas and fertiliser prices, and fuelled inflation.

The Authority’s chief executive Wycliffe Shamiah says the resilience of the market has been supported by increased participation by retail investors, driven by reforms in the equities market such as single-share trading.

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