MARKETS REVIEW: Foreign Money Exits

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September 23, 2025

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In today's newsletter edition, we analyze how the Kenyan stock market has performed so far.

Diamond Trust Bank is also resizing its priorities by exiting the Burundi market.

And read about how you can buy land and property in Kenya as a foreigner…

MARKETS REVIEW: Foreign Money Exits

By Harry Njuguna

Foreign investors staged their sharpest exit of the year from the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) unloading nearly KSh 3 billion in a week and leaving the market reeling.

The retreat was swiftest on September 17th, when KSh 2.8 billion vanished in a single day, the kind of one-session exodus brokers remember for years.

All four indices turned red together for the first time since July, echoing April’s tariff shock, and wiping KSh 81.7 billion off paper wealth.

Yet the paradox is hard to miss: this year’s rally, still one of the strongest on record, has not fully lost its sheen. Local buyers, betting on momentum, stepped into the breach even as foreigners cashed out. Whether the fourth quarter sustains the run now depends which side dominates : offshore skeptics or domestic optimists.

Prioritizing Expensive Travels

By Fred Obura

Nairobi’s county officials have been racking up air miles, spending more on foreign trips than any other devolved unit in Kenya. The Controller of Budget’s report shows millions poured into conferences, trainings, and even a Dubai fashion exhibition, while local projects wait in line.

Other counties, from Mombasa to Nakuru, followed with smaller but still notable tallies, though most kept their spending under ten million.

The criticism is not new: foreign travel has long been flagged as a drain on resources, often at the expense of development. All this, even as Nairobi drowns in nearly KSh 87 billion in unpaid bills…half the country’s total.

A French Investment in Kenya’s Electric Boda Space

By Brian Nzomo

In Nairobi, an e-mobility startup is betting that the quickest route to a cleaner city runs on two wheels. ARC Ride has drawn fresh backing from a French fund, which will finance battery-swapping cabinets and tens of thousands of rechargeable packs. The model, pitched as “battery-as-a-service,” lowers costs for riders while trimming the city’s carbon bill. For investors, it is less about the motorcycles than the possibility of scaling a new kind of infrastructure across Africa.

Diamond Trust Bank : Goodbye Bujumbura!

By Harry Njuguna

Diamond Trust Bank is leaving Burundi the way one folds a tent after a long, unprofitable fair. What began in 2009 with hope and a single branch grew modestly but never quite fit the bank’s regional ambitions.

Profits have lately improved, but deposits and loans have shrunk, making the franchise feel more like a side bet than a pillar. The board has now chosen to sell out to a Burundian consortium, calling it “fair value.” In Nairobi, attention turns back to Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania…the markets DTB still thinks of as home.

Happening this week…

The Kenyan Wall Street is set to host the Inaugural Bullish Kenya event on the Sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York City.

The event will be held on Thursday, 25th September 2025. It will be a highly-exclusive gathering of 80 top decision makers in the business and banking sectors from both Kenya and the United States. This invite-only event will support Kenya’s mission to be Africa’s leading investment and business destination.

To learn more about this event, read here »»»»»

Insight

How to Buy Property in Kenya as a Foreigner or Diaspora Investor

By Lulu Kiritu

For many foreigners and Kenyans abroad, the dream of owning a piece of home begins with a title deed and a leap of faith. The country’s real estate market, swollen by new highways and rising skylines, offers apartments, townhouses, and gated communities in every shade of promise.

Yet the law keeps its guard up. Freehold land remains for citizens, while outsiders must settle for leaseholds that count down from ninety-nine years. Between the paperwork, the stamp duty, and the lurking specter of scams, the process demands patience, money, and a trustworthy lawyer.

Here is how you can navigate buying land as a foreigner…