Category: Capital Markets
-
Does Your Fund Need CMA Approval? Kenya’s Alternative Investment Funds Regulations Explained
In brief If you run or are raising a private equity, venture capital, private credit or property fund with Kenyan investors or a Nairobi management team, or you have been invited to invest in one, this guide tells you whether the Capital Markets Authority must approve it. For decades, private capital in Kenya operated in…
-
Is Forex Trading Legal in Kenya? The CMA Licences for Dealing Brokers, Non-Dealing Brokers and Money Managers
In brief Is forex trading legal in Kenya? Yes, and it has been regulated since 2017. Kenya has a large and fast growing retail forex market, and for years it was served almost entirely by offshore platforms, some reputable and some which vanished with deposits. The Capital Markets (Online Foreign Exchange Trading) Regulations, 2017, published…
-
Does Your Investment App Need a CMA Licence? Kenya’s Intermediary Service Platform Licence Explained
By Peter Maina, Advocate of the High Court of Kenya. Market Notes series. Law stated as at 4 September 2026. In brief If you have built an app, a wallet or a savings product that lets Kenyans put money into a money market fund or a unit trust, and your company is not itself a…
-
Kenya’s New Capital Markets Licensing Rules: What Changed, and Who Must Comply by 13 February 2027
In brief If you hold a stockbroking, fund management, investment banking or investment advisory licence in Kenya, or you run an app through which Kenyans invest, the rules you operate under changed this year and the compliance clock is already running. For more than two decades, anyone seeking a capital markets licence worked from regulations…
-
Special Funds in Kenya: What a Special Collective Investment Scheme Is, and What to Check Before You Invest
Special funds in Kenya are the fastest-growing corner of the collective investment scheme market, now worth over KES 200 billion and rising. This article explains what a special fund actually is, how it differs from an alternative investment fund, and what you should check before you invest. Series note: This is the third and final…
-
Collective Investment Schemes in Kenya: How Unit Trusts, the CMA and the 2023 Regulations Protect the Ordinary Kenyan Saver
Collective investment schemes in Kenya let ordinary savers pool their money into professionally managed unit trusts, special funds and other vehicles regulated by the Capital Markets Authority. This article, the second in a three-part series, explains exactly who may lawfully operate a collective investment scheme in Kenya, how a unit trust is built, what kinds…
-
The History of Investment Funds: From Amsterdam in 1774 to the Money Market Fund on Your Phone
Series note: This is Article 1 of a three-part series on the history of investment funds and collective investment schemes. Article 1 traces the global history of investment funds and their legal origins. Article 2 turns to the Kenyan context, the Capital Markets Act, the Capital Markets (Collective Investment Schemes) Regulations, 2023, the types of…