Kenya\'s stock exchange looks to whet start-ups\' appetite

Young companies in Kenya now have the opportunity to list or issue a bond on the local stock market.

Thanks to a new program set up by the Nairobi Securities Exchange designed to act as an incubator for the fledgling firms. Chief Executive Geoffrey Odundo says he wants to boost the number of firms from the 65 currently listed.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) NSE CEO, GEOFFREY ODUNDO, SAYING: "As opposed to waiting for companies to come to the market when they are ready, we want to make them ready.

So the three stages of Ibuka, is one we want to get them ready which is the incubator.

We then prepare them and get them fit, which is the accelerator, and then we take them to the third stage which is where we want them to get value.

Which is where now they are able to access different products in the market." Called Ibuka, that's Swahili for "emerge," the new scheme aims to prepare companies for listing in two to three years.

Providing them with training in corporate governance and helping them to widen their networks.

One firm which has already been admitted into the program is a local tourism company called Globetrotter.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) GLOBETROTTER AGENCY LIMITED, MANAGING DIRECTOR, VIDYA JETHWA, SAYING: "So IBUKA makes sense because we want to grow, whether it is capital injection or market growth which is what everybody looks for, and especially if it is global growth." The Nairobi Securities Exchange is a key entry point for foreign investors seeking exposure to fast-growing economies in East Africa.

It handles average trading volumes of 8 to 10 million U.S. dollars on normal days, although this is currently heavily dominated by a few big firms. The Ibuka program hopes to diversify that.