NAIROBI, Kenya— The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with global fintech firm Tether to promote digital asset education, tokenisation and financial market innovation as Kenya positions itself to embrace emerging financial technologies.
The partnership, announced on Monday, will explore initiatives aimed at enhancing investor knowledge, modernising market infrastructure and expanding access to investment opportunities through blockchain technology.
Partnership to Drive Digital Asset Education
The NSE said the collaboration seeks to bridge the knowledge gap surrounding digital assets by equipping investors, brokers and other market participants with the skills needed to participate confidently in the evolving digital economy.
Under the agreement, the two organisations will roll out structured investor education programmes, including training sessions, workshops and knowledge-sharing initiatives targeting NSE-listed brokers and retail investors.
NSE Chief Executive Officer Frank Mwiti said the partnership aligns with the exchange’s 2025–2029 Strategic Plan, which focuses on leveraging technology, increasing global market participation and expanding access to investment opportunities.
“By collaborating with Tether, we are exploring innovative technologies that have the potential to modernise market infrastructure, enhance operational efficiency, and broaden investor access while maintaining the highest standards of market integrity and regulatory compliance,” Mwiti said.
Focus on Tokenisation and Blockchain Technology
Beyond investor education, the partnership will explore the development of Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenisation using Tether’s Hadron platform, enabling the issuance and trading of tokenised securities and other financial instruments.
The two organisations also intend to examine blockchain-based market infrastructure capable of supporting instant settlement of securities using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), with the aim of improving efficiency in post-trade processes.
According to the NSE, the initiative could also facilitate fractional ownership of securities, allowing local and diaspora investors to access investment opportunities with greater flexibility.
“Another key area of focus is the potential development of Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization, leveraging the Hadron platform’s capabilities to support the issuance and trading of tokenized securities and other financial instruments,” the NSE said in a statement.
The exchange added that Tether will support the exploration of instant and atomic settlement mechanisms designed to shorten the current securities settlement cycle.
Strengthening Compliance and Investor Access
The collaboration will also focus on designing a secure onboarding solution tailored to Kenya’s regulatory framework to streamline Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance processes.
The NSE said the proposed system is expected to enhance regulatory compliance while improving access to investment products for a wider pool of investors.
Tether Sees Broader Institutional Opportunities
Tether Chief Executive Officer Paolo Ardoino described the partnership as an important step in expanding institutional adoption of digital assets and blockchain technology.
“This is what true freedom means, and we are happy to collaborate with the Nairobi Securities Exchange even further to promote practical institutional use cases and technological advancement to optimize operations and enable efficient, transparent, accountable, and sustainable processes in the stock exchange while ensuring data protection and privacy,” Ardoino said.
Growing Digital Finance Ecosystem
The agreement comes as financial institutions globally increasingly explore blockchain technology to improve market efficiency, reduce transaction costs and expand financial inclusion.
Tether is best known as the issuer of USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin by market capitalisation, while the NSE continues to pursue technology-driven reforms aimed at modernising Kenya’s capital markets and attracting new categories of investors.
