Safaricom is piloting ‘Ziidi Trader,’ a new feature that will let millions of M-PESA users buy and sell stocks directly from their phones. This isn’t just another feature drop; it’s the next logical step in Safaricom’s ambition to build a full-stack financial ecosystem right inside the app that already dominates Kenyan payments.
The new platform, which is currently in testing, will integrate stock trading on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) directly into the M-PESA super app. According to Safaricom, Ziidi Trader will come with all the features you’d expect from a modern trading app, including watchlists, price alerts, and portfolio tracking.
If the pilot succeeds and rolls out widely, it could dramatically lower the barriers that have kept millions of Kenyans out of the stock market. Right now, only about 61,000 out of 1.4 million registered investors actively trade on the NSE. That’s a participation rate of just 4.3%, and it’s a problem that’s plagued Kenya’s capital markets for years. High trading costs, cumbersome account opening processes, and the requirement to buy shares through licensed brokers have all contributed to a market that’s largely inaccessible to everyday Kenyans.
For 18 years, M-PESA has been the undisputed king of mobile money. Now, it’s making a hard pivot to mobile investing. The goal is clear: to demolish the traditional barriers to stock market participation and onboard a new generation of retail investors who live on their phones.
This move isn’t happening in a vacuum. It’s the second major play for Safaricom’s new “Ziidi” investment brand, which it has been aggressively building out since late 2024.
Ziidi launched officially in January 2025 as a money market fund that lets users invest as little as KES 100 and earn daily interest. The product got regulatory approval from the Capital Markets Authority in November 2024 and quickly gained traction – by March 2025, when it celebrated M-PESA’s 18th anniversary with a broader rollout, Ziidi had already attracted over 450,000 opt-ins and grown assets under management to over KES 7.5 billion
The money market fund came after a messy ownership dispute with Genghis Capital over a similar product called Mali. Genghis had partnered with Safaricom since 2019 to pilot Mali, but disagreements over bringing in additional fund managers led to a split.
By leveraging its massive, locked-in user base, Safaricom is connecting the dots between payments, savings, and now, active trading. If the pilot is successful, this integration could permanently alter the landscape of the NSE, bringing a flood of new capital and activity to the exchange. M-PESA isn’t just how you pay for things anymore; it’s becoming the dashboard for many Kenyans’ entire financial life.
