Benefits of Owning shares

It’s a source of profits.
A guarantor for borrowing loans from Cooperative Societies and Banks.
A way of saving your money for the future.
An easy and quick asset to buy and sell.
A new business activity that is beneficial in many ways.
Buying at low prices and selling at high prices to make a profit.
A solution that increases financial activity and economic growth.

Importance of Nairobi Stock Market to the Kenyan Economy

For an economy to grow, money needs to shift from les to more productive activities. In other words, idle money and savings should be invested in productive activity for the economy to grow. The Nairobi Stock Exchange makes this possible by:
Enabling idle money and savings to become productive by bringing the borrowers and lenders of money together at a low cost. The lenders (all savers) become the investors. They lend/invest and expect a profit/financial reward. The borrowers also known as issuers in the markets borrow and promise to pay the lenders a profit. We want to encourage savings and investments through the Nairobi stock Exchange.
Educating the public about the higher profits in shares and bonds; how to buy and sell; when and why to buy and sell. We also educate the public on how to invest together as a group. Facilitating good management of companies by asking them to give periodic reports of their performance. Providing a daily market reports and price list to ensure that investors know the worth of their assets at all times.
Providing financial solutions to common problems. Shares and bonds are accepted guarantees for Co-operative Society’s and bank loans. Shares and bonds can be planned, with the help of a money manager, to pay for school fees, medical, car and other insurance schemes, pension or retirement plans etc. Through shares and bonds, the government, small and big companies, cooperatives societies and other organizations can raise money to expand their business activities, make a profit, create employment and generally help the economy to grow.

Demutualization on Nairobi Stock Exchange

Demutualization of the Nairobi Stock Exchange is the process by which the member/broker-held exchange will change its legal existence from a mutually-held organization to a competitive joint-stock company whereby its shares will trade publicly meaning that you and me may own a piece of the 5th largest stock exchange in Africa (by market cap). Currently, the Nairobi stock exchange exists as a company limited by guarantee but after demutualization, it will be a company limited by shares.
The Demutualization Process
a) Bring together the assets & liabilities of the current NSE to the Demutualised NSE
b) A valuation of the exchange based on the assets and liabilities above
c) A review of the share structure – the proposed authorized and paid-up capital of the Exchange with the number of shares to be issued
d) Make amendments to the Memorandum and Articles
e) Allocate value of the demutualised NSE with the Government of Kenya and the CMA Investor Compensation Fund being not less than 20% of the total shareholding
f) Obtain creditors and other stakeholders green light
g) Construct and conceptualize a feasible corporate governance structure
h) Structure a sound financial management policy especially dividend payouts
i) Start an employee policies and benefits schemes
j) Change the trading rules and other rules to be in line with the new corporate structure of demutualised Nairobi Stock Exchange
Benefits of a Demutualised Nairobi Stock Exchange
1. Improved governance of the NSE to increase investor confidence
2. A competitive stock market will be more efficient in running their business since the management of the NSE will have a duty to maximize the shareholder value e.g. by using state of the art trading technologies.
3. With the Government of Kenya and the CMA Investor Compensation Fund being not less than 20% of the total shareholding, there is now a way to compensate investors who have lost money due to rogue stock brokerage or any other misdemeanor in the system.

Nairobi Stock Exchange history

The Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) is the principal stock exchange of Kenya. It began in 1954 as an overseas stock exchange while Kenya was still a British colony with permission of the London Stock Exchange. The NSE is a member of the African Stock Exchanges Association.
Nairobi Stock Exchange is Africa's fourth largest stock exchange in terms of trading volumes, and fifth in terms of market capitalization as a percentage of GDP. The Exchange works in cooperation with the Uganda Securities Exchange and the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, including the cross-listing of various equities.
The exchange has pre-market sessions from 09:00am to 09:30am and normal trading sessions from 09:30am to 03:00pm on all days of the week except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays declared by the Exchange in advance.
The NSE's offices and trading floor are located at the Nation Centre along Kimathi Street. Trading is done through the Electronic Trading System (ETS) which was commissioned in 2006. A Wide Area Network (WAN) platform was implemented in 2007 and this eradicated the need for brokers to send their staff (dealers) to the trading floor to conduct business. Trading is now mainly conducted from the brokers' offices through the WAN. However, brokers under certain circumstances can still conduct trading from the floor of the NSE.
Two indices are popularly used to measure performance. The NSE 20-Share Index has been in use since 1964 and measures the performance of 20 blue-chip companies with strong fundamentals and which have consistently returned positive financial results. Included in the Index are Mumias Sugar, Express Kenya, Rea Vipingo, Sasini Tea, CMC Holdings, Kenya Airways, Safaricom, Nation Media Group, Barclays Bank Kenya, Equity Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Bamburi Cement, British American Tobacco, Kengen, Centum Investment Company, East African Breweries, EA Cables, Kenya Power & Lighting Company Ltd. and Athi River Mining. This index primarily focuses on price changes for these 20 companies.
In 2008, the Nairobi Stock Exchange All Share Index (NASI) was introduced as an alternative index. Its measure is an overall indicator of market performance. The Index incorporates all the traded shares of the day. Its attention is therefore on the overall market capitalization rather than the price movements of select counters.
There is however a third Index; the AIG 27 Index that compares price movements of 27 companies identified as relatively stable. The rational behind the index compares to that of the NSE 20-Share Index. But whereas the AIG is primarily defined by the AIG company (a financial service company and part of the AIG Group), the 20-share Index is from the NSE itself.