New NSE Rules To Make It Easier For Small Investors To Trade – What It Means For You

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) is making significant changes to how people buy and sell shares, and the new rules are especially good news for small investors. Starting from 1st August 2025, you will be able to trade shares in any quantity, including just one share. Previously, the system required investors to buy shares in large minimum batches — often 100 shares at a time — making it expensive and limiting for ordinary Kenyans who wanted to participate in the market with small amounts of money.

With the new policy, the minimum trading unit has been reduced to just one share. For example, if a Safaricom share is priced at KES 20, you will now only need KES 20 to invest, instead of the KES 2,000 that was previously required to buy a full batch of 100 shares. This opens up access to a wider pool of retail investors, especially youth, low-income earners, and anyone who wants to invest consistently with small amounts. It’s part of NSE’s 2025–2029 strategy to deepen retail participation and make the stock market more inclusive.

In addition to lowering the trading quantity, the NSE is also tightening how daily share prices are calculated. Under the new rules, the closing price of a listed company’s stock — the price reported at the end of the trading day — will only be updated if at least 100 shares are traded in that session. If fewer than 100 shares change hands, the closing price will remain unchanged and reflect the previous average reported by the NSE. This move ensures that low-volume or irregular trades don’t distort the perceived value of a stock, making price movements more credible and reflective of real market activity.

To make this clearer, let’s consider an example. Suppose a company’s current closing price is KES 10. If someone buys just 20 shares at KES 12, the trade is too small to impact the official closing price, so it will stay at KES 10. But if 150 shares are traded at KES 12, then the higher volume is enough to set a new official closing price, and it will update to KES 12. This new system filters out noise and ensures that the closing price reflects meaningful trading activity.

These changes will simplify the trading process, remove the need for the “Odd Lot Board” (which was used for small quantities), and bring everything into one platform. It’s a big win for the everyday investor who can now take part in the market on equal footing, without needing large amounts of capital or special access. Brokers and trading platforms are being asked to update their systems in time for the change, and investors should also speak to their brokers to understand how to take advantage of the new system.

In short, the NSE is making it cheaper, safer, and easier for ordinary Kenyans to invest — and with as little as KES 20, your journey into the stock market can begin.

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