The NSE bell rang for Safaricom’s Green note on December 16, 2025, and a live trade in red-jacket tradition started the secondary market for the KSh 20.0Bn tranche.
- •Safaricom joined a market with new technology rails and new buyers and the listing changed how corporate debt reaches ordinary investors.
- •The telco built a KSh 40.0Bn Domestic Medium-Term Note programme and the first five-year Green note carried a 10.40% fixed coupon.
- •Analysts expect active trading in early weeks after listing and they will track price movements against government securities.
Retail demand shaped the day with the offer drew KSh 41.6Bn of applications and delivered a 175.7% oversubscription rate. About 2,453 retail investors participated and they represented the majority of tickets submitted for the note. Individual buyers used USSD channels to apply and many investors paid through M‑PESA wallets, a first for Kenya’s corporate debt listings. NSE officials said the live trade executed during the ceremony mattered because the trade signaled readiness for immediate price discovery on the exchange.
The bond arrived with a digital distribution model where Safaricom relied on mobile channels to collect orders and the process lowered friction for small investors. Brokers reported steady flows from counties outside Nairobi and they said the ceremony helped educate first‑time bond buyers.
Safaricom’s Group CFO Dilip Dilip Pal said the issuer targeted renewable energy upgrades across the network. Proceeds from the Green note will fund solarisation of base stations and efficiency projects outlined in the sustainable finance framework.
Kenya’s corporate debt market has long favoured institutions and pension funds and insurance firms often dominated allocations. Safaricom altered that pattern and the retail tickets on tranche one challenged the old bias.
The instrument set a minimum application of KSh 50,000 and the structure allowed increments of KSh 10,000.
Why Green Investments Like Safaricom's New Bond Are Largely Tax-Free
