Kenya’s Wall Street Moment | Frank Mwiti
In the latest episode of our East Africa Series, we step inside one of the most overlooked engines of African transformation, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). Far from being just a financial institution, the NSE is quietly rewriting Kenya’s national narrative, moving it from marathons and wildlife to investment powerhouses, legacy builders, and global innovators.
Our guest, Frank Mwiti, CEO of the NSE, joins us with a bold vision: to democratize wealth creation. Once seen as a playground for the elite, the exchange is now on a mission to bring everyday Kenyans, from rural farmers to young digital traders, into the financial conversation. With mobile-first access, the ability to buy just one share, and an ambition to scale from 1.5 million to 9 million active retail investors by 2029, Frank is turning the stock market into a national movement.
But this episode goes deeper than numbers.
We discuss legacy, trust, and identity. Why are world-class Kenyan family businesses still hesitant to list publicly, even when they’re profitable? How do you convince patriarchs and matriarchs that going public isn’t losing control, it’s securing immortality? And what does investing have to do with being Kenyan?
From climate bonds to fintech IPOs, diaspora capital to agricultural financing, Frank reveals how the NSE is positioning itself as the gateway to East Africa, not just for global investors, but for citizens rebuilding financial autonomy from the ground up.
If you think stock exchanges are boring, this episode will change your mind. It’s part economics, part culture, part revolution. Kenya isn’t just rising, it’s listing.
Produced by Global Indian Series for the Global Indian Network.
Script by Rajan Nazran
original idea: Rajan Nazran
Introduction music: (https://freesound.org/people/Timbre)
About Frank Mwiti
Frank Mwiti is the Chief Executive Officer of the Nairobi Securities Exchange Plc (NSE), bringing over 24 years of global leadership across Africa, the UK, the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Russia. He has advised investors, boards, CEOs, shareholders, and government leaders on complex cross-border strategy, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and large-scale transformation programmes across diverse sectors, including capital markets, banking, private equity, insurance, energy, manufacturing, consumer goods, technology, defence, and telecommunications.
A strategic and results-driven business leader, Mr Mwiti’s expertise spans governance, corporate finance, business development, risk management, and performance improvement.
Before joining NSE, he served as Partner and Eastern Africa Markets Leader at Ernst & Young (EY), where he led strategic business development for assurance, tax, consulting, and transaction services across Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan.
His earlier roles include Manager in Banking and Capital Markets Advisory at PwC and EY in the United Kingdom, as well as Associate Director in Investment Banking at UBS in the UK. He also served as a Management Consultant in Investment Banking at Deutsche Bank in the UK.
Mr Mwiti is also an entrepreneur, having founded and led Afrika Kapital in the UK, where he advised Deutsche Bank and Lloyds Banking Group on forex, equities, fixed income, commodities, synthetic products, and listed derivatives across major global financial hubs, including London, New York, Frankfurt, Singapore, Moscow, and Hong Kong.
He currently represents the NSE on the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (CDSC) Board.
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