How to Buy Safaricom Shares in Kenya

As the largest company in Kenya and the larger East African region, Safaricom shares have become very lucrative for investors. Since its IPO in 2007, Safaricom continues to offer value to its shareholders both in form of dividends and share price gain.

Currently, Safaricom’s share price is trading at an average of 35 shillings with a yearly high of 45 shillings giving it an average market cap of 1.4 trillion shillings.

Safaricom’s share price has recorded tremendous gain since its launch from the initial 5 shillings in 2007.

Why buy Safaricom shares?

Investors in shares are driven by two main objectives. This is both dividends and shares price gain benefits resulting in the creation of value in the long term. As an example, if you bought shares when they were trading at 5 Shillings, you could now have a 700% gain.

This consistent gain in value is what makes Safaricom among the best-listed companies to invest in. When you top this up with the frequent yearly dividends, it becomes among the top blue-chip companies to invest in the Kenyan market.

Another key factor on why to buy Safaricom shares is the business dominance in the telecommunications sector. It is the largest company in the market offering these services making it highly profitable.

This is a dominance that is likely to continue. As more people embrace these services, Safaricom is likely to remain profitable hence offering more value to investors.

M-PESA

M-Pesa is the largest mobile money service on the continent. With almost every adult Kenyan using the platform, it continues to drive Safaricom growth. For an investor, this is a key factor to consider when buying Safaricom shares.

The value of M-Pesa continues to grow through the introduction of innovative products such as lending and payments through the platform.

With no close competitor insight, it is likely to continue dominating the market in the future.

How to buy Safaricom shares

The process of buying shares in Kenya is straightforward. This is common across all the listed companies in the Nairobi Securities Exchange

Below are the steps to buy Safaricom shares in Kenya.

Step 1: Open a CDS account

A Central Deposit and Settlement (CDS) account is offered by the Central Deposit and Settlement Corporation to facilitate trading in the financial markets. Learn more on How to Open a CDS account.

It enables you to invest in assets such as shares and government bonds. You can get a CDS to account from various institutions such as Investment banks, stockbrokers, and central banks.

Every Kenyan can have a CDS account as long as you have a Kenyan bank account, identity card, and Kenya Revenue Authority, Pin.

Step 2: Top up your account

The next step after having a CDS account is to top up your trading account with the amount of capital that you won’t invest.

This depends on your ability. However, there are some rules such as you can only buy a minimum of 100 shares. Hence, to invest in the Safaricom shares, you will need a minimum of 3500 shillings to buy shares at the current market price.

However, you can buy more depending on your ability. Buying of shares happens through your stockbroker. It is also important to note that brokers may have some charges while trading with them.

Hence, you need to do adequate market research to find the right one.

Conclusion on How to Buy Safaricom Shares

The process of buying and trading Safaricom shares is simple. It remains the largest company in Kenya creating numerous opportunities for its investors.

You need to conduct adequate market research before investing in shares. Alternatively, you can engage a professional for guidance in case you have any challenges.