Safaricom Plc is piloting a new feature on its M-PESA mobile money platform that will allow users to buy and sell shares listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, expanding its footprint in Kenya’s financial services industry.
The service, dubbed Ziidi Trader, is designed to let millions of M-PESA users access stock trading directly from their phones, in what could mark a major shift in retail participation in the country’s capital markets. The feature will include real-time price feeds, watchlists, and portfolio tracking tools, similar to those offered by global trading apps.
The move is part of Safaricom’s broader strategy to transform M-PESA from a payments service into a full-fledged digital finance platform, combining money transfers, savings, credit, and investments under one ecosystem.
Kenya has about 1.4 million registered investors on the NSE, yet only around 61,000 actively trade, according to exchange data. High transaction costs, complex onboarding, and the need to use licensed brokers have limited wider market access. Embedding trading within M-PESA — which counts over 32 million active users — could help democratize investing and inject new liquidity into the local market.
Ziidi Trader follows the launch of Ziidi Money Market Fund in January 2025, which has attracted more than 450,000 users and KES 7.5 billion ($48 million) in assets under management. That fund replaced Safaricom’s earlier collaboration with Genghis Capital, known as Mali, which ended over control issues.
With payments, savings, and trading increasingly interconnected, Safaricom is positioning M-PESA as East Africa’s dominant financial super app. If successful, Ziidi Trader could deepen retail engagement with Kenya’s capital markets and further entrench Safaricom’s role in the region’s digital economy.