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Diaspora Investors Get Direct NSE Access via Ziidi Trader App
Sponsored by Safaricom
Ms Esther Waititu, Chief Financial Services Officer at Safaricom.
Photo credit: Pool
Kenyans living in the diaspora can now enjoy seamless access to investing at the Nairobi Securities Exchange following the roll out of the Ziidi Trader app.
The app which is found under the financial services tab of the M-PESA app allows direct access to shares listed on the exchange without one having to open a Central Depository & Settlement Corporation (CDSC) account.
Safaricom Plc is looking to harness its vast diaspora remittances flows to allow/enable investments on the exchange via the Ziidi Trader app.
The telco says that on average, flows through its platform account for 80.0 percent of all diaspora remittance inflows into the country, creating a low hanging fruit for the company to stir up activity on the Exchange via the Ziidi Platform given its simplicity.
“We have the Safaricom Money Transfer Services Ltd which runs as a subsidiary of Safaricom Plc and where we do a lot of our remittance business. When we see the flows coming through from a remittances point of view, that business accounts for 80.0 percent of the flows that come into the country”, Safaricom Plc’s Chief Financial Services Officer, Esther Masese Waititu, says.
In 2025 Kenya registered US$5.04 billion (Sh649.74 billion) worth of diaspora remittances inflows, placing Safaricom Money Transfer Services Ltd.’s share at about Sh519.79 billion.
The company’s top leadership says that the proportion of these flows that targets investment in various asset classes can now easily find its way into the Nairobi Securities without Kenyans in the diaspora having to rely on reps to invest.
“When you look at these flows they are typically for three things. The first is that people are sending money back home for investments. It could be to buy property, land, or other investment assets. The second is they are sending money for sustenance of a family and the third is usually education or some other form of contribution. A lot of these diaspora clients seeking investment have been relying on family or friends because of issues of trust,” Masese says.
Increased transparency
According to Masese, Safaricom Plc is banking on increased transparency, enhanced efficiency and full control to woo the diaspora population into tapping into Ziidi Trader as their platform of choice in accessing the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
The proposition to the diaspora customer is that they can now actually invest directly and benefit from the growth seen over the past couple of years. They no longer need to have a go between to invest at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. They can now make their investment, have full control and track individually without having to rely on other parties.
Beyond convenience and control users can now earn diversified income in Kenya Shillings through dividends—returns that can be reinvested or used to spur local economic activities.
Ziidi Trader accounted for 55.0 percent of total trade volumes and 2.0 percent of the total market activity during its pilot phase.
The government is banking on the launch of Ziidi Trader a week before the close of the offer period of the Sh106.3 billion Kenya Pipeline Initial Public Offer (IPO) which targets registering an ambitious 2.0 million retail investors by its close.
