NSE Appoints Tom Mulwa as Chairman as Exchange Builds on Capital Market Reforms
The board transition comes as Kenya's stock exchange builds on a revived listings pipeline, wider retail participation and a broader mix of investment products under its 2025–2029 strategy.
Tom Mulwa will become chairman of the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) on July 13, succeeding Kiprono Kittony after six years at the helm of Kenya’s bourse. The leadership transition comes at a time when the exchange is pursuing one of its busiest periods in recent years, with new equity listings, debt issues, REITs and digital retail investing reshaping activity across the capital markets.
The appointment follows the expiry of Kittony’s term as chairman and independent non-executive director on July 12 after a board review conducted in line with the exchange’s governance framework.
During Kittony’s tenure, the NSE ended an 11-year drought in initial public offerings, introduced digital products aimed at expanding retail investor participation and began implementing its 2025–2029 strategy. The exchange also emerged among Africa’s top-performing stock markets during that period.
Mulwa assumes the chairmanship after serving on the NSE Board since September 2025, during a period when the exchange accelerated listings, expanded retail investing through Ziidi Trader and broadened its capital markets offering with new equity, debt and REIT listings.
The transition therefore represents continuity in oversight as the exchange advances an agenda focused on deepening Kenya’s capital markets, widening investor participation and expanding financing options for businesses.
A Different Exchange From Just a Few Years Ago
The leadership handover comes after a period of renewed market activity.
Family Bank joined the NSE in June through a listing by introduction, ending a long period in which few major privately owned companies entered the public market. The listing brought more than 6,300 shareholders onto the exchange while placing governance, ownership transparency and market disclosure under greater public scrutiny.
The exchange has also broadened its fixed-income market.
Earlier this year, I&M Bank listed its medium-term note after attracting investor demand that exceeded its fundraising target, extending renewed corporate participation in Kenya’s debt markets.
Property investment vehicles have also returned to the market.
TRIFIC’s dollar-denominated Green I-REIT attracted subscriptions above its fundraising target before listing, providing one of the strongest recent tests of investor appetite for listed real estate investment trusts.
Beyond attracting new issuers, the exchange has also sought to strengthen the pipeline of future listings. Through initiatives such as the Ibuka Programme, the NSE has been working with growth-stage companies to improve governance, investor readiness and market preparedness, positioning listing as part of long-term institutional development rather than solely a route to raising capital.
Retail Investors Have Become a Bigger Priority
Alongside new listings, the exchange has placed greater emphasis on bringing individual investors into the market.
Its partnership with Safaricom produced Ziidi Trader, allowing investors to buy listed shares and corporate bonds through a mobile platform linked to M-PESA. Since launch, the platform has surpassed KSh1 billion in cumulative turnover and processed more than 351,000 trades.
The initiative forms part of the exchange’s broader ambition of expanding Kenya’s retail investor base to nine million by 2029.
While institutional investors continue to account for most trading activity, the exchange has increasingly focused on reducing barriers to participation by allowing investors to enter the market using familiar digital channels.
Governance Remains Central
The leadership transition itself reflects the governance standards the exchange promotes among listed companies.
In announcing the appointment, the NSE said the board changes followed the conclusion of Kittony’s term and a review of board composition aimed at maintaining strong governance, board independence and long-term institutional oversight.
Those principles have become more visible as companies entering public markets face greater scrutiny over board structures, ownership arrangements, executive remuneration and disclosure practices.
The exchange has increasingly positioned governance as part of building stronger public markets rather than simply meeting regulatory requirements.
What Mulwa Inherits
Mulwa brings more than three decades of executive leadership experience through Liaison Group, where he has served as chief executive since 1999 after joining the company in 1991. He also chairs the Kenya National REITs and serves on the National Investment Council, bringing experience spanning insurance, risk management, investment and corporate governance.
His appointment also follows months of visible participation in NSE board activities, including presiding over listing ceremonies where the exchange emphasised long-term capital formation and product diversification.
One such occasion was the listing of I&M Group’s medium-term note, where Mulwa described the transaction as reaffirming the depth, resilience and growing sophistication of Kenya’s capital markets as a platform for long-term financing.
The priorities facing the exchange are unlikely to change immediately.
The 2025–2029 strategy continues to focus on increasing listings across equity and debt markets, expanding retail participation, strengthening liquidity, developing new investment products and positioning Nairobi as a more competitive regional capital market.
The board said it expects Mulwa to build on the foundation established during Kittony’s tenure as the exchange works to deepen Kenya’s capital markets, broaden investor participation and create long-term value for shareholders and the wider economy.
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