Safaricom opens Sharia-compliant investing from Sh100 as Kenya shapes new rules

For customers seeking to invest in line with Islamic principles, Safaricom’s new savings route starts with just Sh100. The company has launched the Ziidi Sharia Money Market Fund with GulfCap Investment Bank, bringing a faith-based investment option onto its digital network. The launch comes as Kenya’s capital markets regulator works on rules for a market it says is attracting growing interest, according to The Standard Kenya Business (direct).

Unveiled on Tuesday, the fund combines Safaricom’s technology and customer reach with GulfCap’s expertise in Islamic finance. A money market fund pools investors’ savings into short-term financial instruments. In this case, GulfCap says those investments are restricted to instruments in Sharia-compliant banks, with returns earned from activities permitted under Islamic principles rather than from interest, known as riba.

Customers can make an initial investment of Sh100 and add amounts from Sh10 through Safaricom’s My OneApp or by dialling *334#. The fund is embedded in the M-Pesa platform but operates separately from Safaricom’s conventional Ziidi Money Market Fund. That distinction gives customers a separate option designed around religious requirements, rather than changing the existing conventional product.

A small entry point, a wider audience

Safaricom Group Chief Executive Peter Ndegwa put the Muslim community at the centre of the launch. He described the product as part of the company’s financial inclusion effort—broadening access to financial services—and not simply a new commercial opportunity. His emphasis was on making investing relevant to customers whose values and circumstances shape the financial products they can use.

Ndegwa said the launch reflected Safaricom’s inclusive brand, rather than merely a business opportunity.

GulfCap Investment Bank Chief Executive Saud Shahbal said the fund was intended for Muslims and others who prefer ethical investing. He said it invests exclusively in short-term, highly liquid instruments in Sharia-compliant banks. Such instruments can be readily converted into cash. Shahbal described the approach as preserving capital and providing daily liquidity while keeping returns free of interest and tied to permissible activities.

Kenya works on the governance framework

The Capital Markets Authority approved Ziidi Sharia in February 2025. Its chief executive, Wyckliffe Shamiah, said products of this kind could widen financial inclusion and help pool capital. Shamiah was represented at the launch by Justus Agoti, the authority’s senior manager for market deepening. The regulator is now working on an overarching governance policy for Sharia-compliant investment products as interest in faith-based finance grows in Kenya.

Shamiah placed that work in a wider international context. Citing IFSD data, he put global Sharia-compliant assets at $3.8 trillion as of 2025. He said jurisdictions in the Gulf, Europe and Central Asia were encouraging Islamic finance to play an active role in their economies. Within East Africa, he singled out Kenya and Tanzania as markets making more concerted efforts to bring forward offerings aligned with Islamic principles.

The next development to watch is the CMA’s policy work. Shamiah said the authority wants consensus on a workable environment for Islamic finance, including a Sharia governance model to strengthen consistency, transparency and investor confidence. The fund is already approved; the broader framework that will guide this growing part of Kenya’s investment market is still being shaped.