How Ndindi Nyoro Made a Fortune in Stocks, Tech

Most Kenyans know Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro as a hard-hitting politician and ardent supporter of President-Elect William Ruto. But before entering Parliament in 2017, he had already made a fortune in private enterprise – thanks to businesses including a stock-trading agency and internet connectivity provider.

This background in business might explain why, to date, the legislator who won a second term in August signs off all his social media posts with “We are African and Africa is our Business”. According to Nyoro, it is his passion for entrepreneurship that enabled him to rise from a humble upbringing in Murang’a to success in business and politics.

The MP states that in primary school and high school he engaged in several businesses including rabbit rearing, shoe repair and a small shop. In 2005, he was admitted to Kenyatta University (KU) to study Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

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At KU, he ran a small restaurant which ended up flopping after the university introduced changes that massively reduced the price of food in the school cafeteria. It was also at KU that his political journey began as he engaged in student leadership activities.

But it was in stocks that Nyoro would end up finding initial financial success. According to the MP, he first dealt with stocks in 2006 after being hired by Ngenye Kariuki Stock Brokers. Later that year, he opened his own agency, Stock Bridge Brokers under Dyer & Blair Investment Bank, and ran the business until he graduated from Kenyatta University.

“Stock broking will forever remain my number one business because I have been in it for almost a decade now. It is a lucrative business and my future plans are to strengthen the company,” he told People Daily in a 2017 interview.

Nyoro’s Stockbridge Securities found itself struggling, partly due to internet connectivity challenges that occasioned delays in executing trades. This inspired him to set up Afrisec – an internet provider, in 2010. He raised Ksh500,000 to secure a dealership license from Liquid Telecom, formerly Kenya Data Networks (KDN).

Afrisec provides enterprise technology solutions including internet services, software solutions, networking and surveillance solutions.

In 2016, with Afrisec now a stable business, Nyoro reportedly co-founded Investax Capital – a new stock agency alongside a former Kenyatta University schoolmate of his. He reportedly invested Ksh5 million into the firm and became an equal partner. This, however, meant that he had to withdraw his shareholding and resign from Stockbridge to avert a possible conflict of interest.

“I could not continue with Stockbridge after starting Investax Capital because of conflict of interest. Stockbridge was operating under Dyer and Blair Investment Bank Ltd and Investax under the CFC Stanbic Bank. I left it freely to a friend and partner who now runs it as his own,” he told Daily Nation in a past interview.

Reports have previously valued the three companies associated with Nyoro in excess of Ksh300 million. It also recently emerged that he is one of the largest individual shareholders in power utility Kenya Power, with a total of 9,116,800 ordinary shares or 0.46 per cent as of 2021.

At the time of release of the Financial Report containing the disclosure in June 2021, each making Nyoro’s shares worth Ksh22,792,000.

In 2013, Ndindi was appointed the Chairperson of Kiharu Constituency Development Fund (CDF), a position he held until 2016. Nyoro successfully ran for the Kiharu MP seat a year later.

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