Safaricom and Kenya’s listed banks accounted for more than 80 per cent of all dividends paid by companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) in the latest full financial year, giving shareholders a major share of their income from a small group of companies.
The 12 listed banks and Safaricom together paid Sh197.2 billion to shareholders during the period, out of a total Sh245.9 billion distributed by companies listed on the NSE. This means the two groups accounted for 80.2 per cent of all dividends paid during the year.
The remaining 21 companies that paid dividends distributed a combined Sh48.7 billion. This amount was just over half of the Sh80 billion paid by Safaricom alone.
Outside Safaricom and the banking sector, East African Breweries Plc (EABL), BAT Kenya and KenGen recorded some of the largest dividend payments. They paid Sh10.04 billion, Sh7 billion and Sh4.94 billion respectively.
The total dividend payments were also boosted by a one-off interim payout of Sh13 billion by Ugandan electricity company Umeme in July 2025. The payment amounted to Sh81 per share.
Dividends are an important source of income for investors because they provide actual cash return from share ownership. This is different from gains made when share prices rise, since investors only realise those gains after selling their shares.
The strong dividend performance by Safaricom and banks has also come as the NSE market has recorded significant growth this year. The exchange has added Sh1.23 trillion, or 42 per cent, to its market capitalisation, pushing the total value to Sh4.18 trillion.
Safaricom and banks have played a major role in this growth. Together, they added Sh916 billion in market value, representing 74 per cent of the total increase recorded by the NSE this year. The banking figure includes Sh49 billion in new market value created by the listing of Family Bank in June.
Safaricom remained the biggest dividend payer among companies listed on the NSE. The telecommunications company distributed Sh80 billion after increasing its dividend per share from Sh1.20 to Sh2.
Among the banks, KCB Group recorded the largest dividend payout at Sh22.5 billion, followed by Equity Group at Sh21.7 billion. Co-operative Bank of Kenya paid Sh14.7 billion, while Standard Chartered Bank Kenya and NCBA Group each paid Sh11.7 billion.
However, the growing ownership of some of Kenya's biggest companies by foreign investors means a larger share of dividend income is going to investors outside the country.
South African company Vodacom Group, for instance, increased its stake in Safaricom by purchasing an additional 15 per cent from the Kenyan government for Sh204 billion, taking its ownership to 55 per cent.