Kenyan investors looking to spread their money around have had two choices for a while. That is about to change.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange, the biggest stock market in East Africa, wants to list a wide range of new funds over the next few years. The goal is to give everyday investors an easier way to buy into everything from tech companies to gold to the region's biggest businesses.
Right now, investors in Kenya's market have two exchange-traded funds, or ETFs. These are funds that track a group of stocks or assets, letting you buy a slice of many companies at once instead of picking individual winners.
The Satrix MSCI World covers more than 1,300 stocks across 23 developed markets. The Absa NewGold tracks the price of gold.
CEO Frank Mwiti says that is not enough. Mwiti aims to have 50 varied funds and index products listed on the exchange by 2029. The exchange has already started working on ETFs tied to technology companies, sharia-compliant investments, and leading stocks in East Africa and across the continent.
"People can essentially buy the market or buy thematic sectors without having to think 'what do I buy, what do I sell,'" Mwiti said Tuesday at the launch of Bloomberg's first Where to Invest 10 Million Shillings report, which gathered advice from three money experts for people with about $77,000 to invest.
The most anticipated launch is a tech ETF targeting companies with exposure to data centers and artificial intelligence. The tech ETF is slated for launch before the year ends.
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A bank ETF is also on the way. Kenya's markets regulator approved a fund tied to publicly traded lenders last week, and it starts trading on the NSE in October.
The exchange is studying ETFs for mining companies and sharia-compliant businesses, which follow Islamic financing rules that ban charging interest. That includes a real estate investment trust structured under those rules.
There are also plans for regional funds. The NSE is talking with other exchanges about an East Africa Top 20 ETF made up of five leading stocks from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. A separate Africa 50 ETF would track the continent's top 50 equities.
"For now, the market looks like it will be Kenya, Nigeria, Joburg, Egypt and Morocco," Mwiti said. "The work is still being done so that might change."
The timing is not an accident. Kenya's next national elections are in August 2027, and Mwiti expects campaign spending to lift trading activity.
"Everyone running for political office will spend. That's money in the economy. It is possible there might be tax incentives," he said.
The market is already on a roll. The NSE's market value has climbed over 29% in both shilling and dollar terms this year, and it sits at a record high.
According to Mwiti, the exchange has passed the 4 trillion-shilling market capitalization figure this year. He projects the market will hit 5 trillion shillings by year's end.
"We crossed the 4 trillion-shilling market capitalisation mark this year," Mwiti said. "The trajectory we're on will place us potentially at 5 trillion shillings by the end of the year."
For people investing in Kenya, more options mean more ways to build a portfolio without needing to be a stock-picking expert. ETFs let you buy a whole market or a whole theme in one move. As the exchange rolls out these funds over the next few years, the hardest part may shift from finding options to choosing which ones fit your goals.
