The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) intends to train a new generation of investors through a virtual mock trading platform known as NSE Soko Play, with the platform set to launch in early September.
- •The NSE Soko Play is a platform where interested investors will pay KSh 100 to trade using virtual cash worth KShs. 250,000.
- •Participants will also receive free training and market analytics that will prepare them for real-time trading at the stock exchange.
- •Dedicated traders on the Soko Play platform will be rewarded with cash prizes and internship opportunities at the trading floor.
“Soko Play is a direct result of our engagement with young people. They really want to be informed of how the market operates and want to grow their wealth at a very tender age. We believe that Soko Play will empower them and assist them to know what is market, and how they can utilize it,” David Wainaina, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at NSE said.
According to the NSE, Soko Play will be unique because it is risk-free and available to anyone who wishes to learn about trading. Being Kenya’s sole securities trader, the company has a wealth of information and insight that participants can leverage on.
“This is a tool that assists one to learn how to grow their wealth. It is different in the sense that you are practicing in a virtual environment with a view that once you learn then you will be able to buy one of the 63 listed securities,” Wainaina said.
The Soko Play platform is strategy by the NSE to reach out to the Gen-Z population in colleges and universities, educating them on stock trading as way of diversifying investment. It is intended to help erase misconceptions about trading and introduce trading concepts to younger populations by depicting stock trading as a fun activity.
