Local institutional investors at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) emerged net buyers in 2025 while retail and foreign investors closed as net sellers.
Local corporates purchased shares amounting to KES 67.5 billion and sold shares valued at KES 53 billion, translating to net purchases of KES 14.5 billion. The segment’s net purchasing was supported by net sales recorded by both local individual investors and foreign investors who made shares available for purchase.
Net sales by individual investors were mainly driven by the bull run experienced in 2025 which prompted investors to lock in capital gains. The benchmark index, the Nairobi All Share Index (NASI) gained 51% in 025, closing the year at 186.58 points compared to 123.48 points recorded in the end of the previous year. The NSE-20 rose sharply by 56.1% closing at 3,139.19 points, while the NSE-25 index soared by 49.8% closing the year at 5,096.68 points.
The NSE-10, which tracks the performance of the 10 best-performing large-cap companies at the NSE, settled at 1,965.20 points, up 50.9%. The Banking Sector Index closed the year at 203.65 points. Market capitalization increased by 52.3% to KES 2.94 trillion from KES 1.93 the previous year.
The Bourse’s strong performance was driven by several factors including improved macroeconomic environment, falling interest rates, improved liquidity, and strong corporate earnings growth especially from banking counters.
Local individual investors recorded purchases worth KES 30.2 billion against sales of KES 32.7 billion, translating to net sales of KES 2.5 billion.
NSE local investors rise sharply
Data from the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (CDSC) shows that the number of newly registered local retail investors rose by 57% to 59,864 in 2025, up from 37,970 in 2024, bringing the total number of local investors to 1.26 million. The upward trend is expected to continue into 2026, supported by anticipated new listings. Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) is set to list in March, while Family Bank and AA Kenya are also expected to join the exchange during the year. According to the NSE’s 2029 strategic plan, the bourse is targeting 9 million active individual investors.
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