Ziidi Trader, a mobile App run by Safaricom has been officially launched by President William Ruto, opening the door to retail investors with no electronic accounts to trade at the Nairobi Securities Exchange(NSE) or the financial knowledge in the world of high finance. All in their possession is simply a mobile phone and the desire to trade.
Barely two hours after the App was unveiled, there was a huge traffic on the platform as well as MPesa in what market insiders attribute to standard launch-day audits and checks, which temporarily affected transaction flow on both Apps. Such measures are common during rollout of new platforms to ensure compliance and stability.
“The NSE could have also experienced delays when trades were initially submitted for execution. A third of all trades at the NSE are still executed manually,” said CFA Dedan Maina.
During the launch event President Ruto pushed for the NSE and Capital Markets Authority(CMA) to lower trading costs, so as to make it easier for retailers to access the bourse. Users of the platform will enjoy voting rights and will also be entitled to dividend payouts.
Ziidi Trader Capabilities
Ziidi Trader, is embedded within Safaricom’s M-Pesa platform and offers features like Portfolio Tracking enabling investors to monitor their investments in real-time. The App also has real-time alerts that unable the investor to stay updated on market fluctuations; it also has watchlists that enable one to keep tabs on favourite stocks.
By integrating with M-Pesa, Ziidi Trader eliminates the need for separate brokerage accounts, making it easier for new retail investors to join the NSE.
The move by Safaricom’s Mpesa to enter the NSE trading floor is expected to boost retail investor participation, currently low at around 4.3% of registered investors.
NSE Investors: Why this news matters.
Ziidi Trader inside M-Pesa is a big structural change for the NSE. Millions of Kenyans already use M-Pesa so buying shares will become simple and familiar. Increased retail participation will result in more investors coming on board triggering more demand for shares. Higher demand often results in price appreciation (capital gains).
NSE: The Big Winners
So the big winners are companies that are widely known, have more affordable share prices and already have high trading activity. Companies most likely to benefit include Safaricom because it owns M-Pesa. Ziidi Trader is embedded in its ecosystem and this increased trading activity will strengthen the fintech’s dominance.
Ziidi will ride on the capital gains logic and its higher visibility, increased investor loyalty, strong fundamentals of Safaricom and its innovation narrative. Safaricom is therefore one of the clearest beneficiaries of this news.
While the market already has a heap of online stock trading platforms, the strong brand name that Safaricom possesses is set to upstage other rival online stock trading platforms that already exist in the market.
The NSE will benefit from increased volumes which translates from more transactions, listing fees, trading fees as well as data & market services. Higher trading volumes improves.
Safaricom, with its huge Mpesa subscribers-now at more than 34 million, and a strong brand, could bring down the barriers in stock trading, eating into commissions currently earned by stockbrokerage firms, investment banks and asset managers.
The Ziidi Trader, a new feature inside the M-PESA app, features an interface with modern trading tools. offering M-PESA integration, valuable insights, and a platform to learn and grow trading skills.
Users can access portfolio overviews, track performance graphs, set up watchlists, receive price alerts, and monitor dividends — all without leaving the M-PESA platform.
Retailers will execute seamless deposits and withdrawals directly to and from M-PESA, reducing barriers to entry for retail investors and potentially increasing their participation at the NSE.
Safaricom has rolled out the Ziidi trading App as part of its broader strategy to unwrap M-PESA from a payments tool into a full-fledged financial services engine that has investments, insurance, and savings components.
Safaricom launched Ziidi Money Market Fund in December 2024 in partnership with Standard Investment Bank and ALA Capital Limited.
Ziidi MMF, allows M-PESA customers to invest in a money market fund with as little as KSh 100, earning competitive daily interest.
Recent reports indicate that the Ziidi Money Market Fund, a player in the middle tier category, has accumulated more KSh 10.2 billion in assets under management since its launch last year.
ALSO READ:D: Chumz App Encourages Saving, Guards Against Over Spending
Leave a comment