Dive into Online Trading in Kenya

Online trading has become a very meaningful way to make money and have fun doing it. It was only a matter of time before serious brokers arrived in the country to offer people the opportunity to trade on various products, such as stocks, gold, or even crypto-currencies.

The legal landscape of Kenya is very keen on welcoming a vast choice of trading platforms, and it’s easy to get lost in the sea of terms and conditions that these platforms provide. If you’re a beginner and you want to dip your toes into the fast-paced world of trading, let this article guide you and get you some leads to become the Wolf of Wall Street - or, more like, the Wolf of Nairobi!

Step 1: Choosing the Best Platform and Start Trading

Trading is more than a hobby. It’s an activity that many people choose to engage with, maybe as a secondary source of income. It all boils down to choosing financial products, putting some money on them, and speculating on the fact that the value of these products would go higher over time. Then, it’s time to reap the benefits of your trade, knowing that trading fees and spreads are also around the corner.

One should never put money into a broker’s account before doing diligent research first. If you’re interested in online trading in Kenya, it’s better to scour the web to find the best platform. One of the main elements you need to make sure that your broker is regulated and that it’s allowed to operate in a country such as Kenya.

Other questions are specific to the Kenyan market, too. Is your preferred broker accepting the local currency? Is it complying to every rule of the financial authority of the country? Only after answering positively to these questions will you be able to make a wise choice and start your trading adventure.

Remember that a good broker also gives you the best tools to make simple trades as you go. If software such as Metatrader 4 or 5 is the most popular and reliable tool for making successful trades, there are also a vast amount of resources to inform you about your favourite financial products. Don’t forget that loads of trades happen on mobile phones nowadays. Your new broker should be able to deliver a fast and responsive app so you don’t miss an opportunity to trade.

Some Many Products to Trade, Which One to Choose?

There are so many financial products that mentioning them all would take an entire article. However, we might as well start with stock trading, which is the business of buying shares of a company, hoping to watch them grow, and selling them whenever you think you’ve made enough money. 

Most Kenyan trading platforms are able to offer shares from the most prestigious companies worldwide, such as Apple or Amazon. If not, you might be able to speculate on the product’s value without actually buying shares.

Forex trading is an entirely different beast, although it refers to the same mechanism. Buying low and selling high: that should be the main goal for all trading out there, although you can also speculate for a product to go down. Forex trading requires a good knowledge of the market you’re trying to deal with. It could be gold, it could be currency such as the US dollar or the Japanese yen. It’s all very fascinating because the values of these products follow interesting and yet unpredictable patterns.

Because Kenya is one of the most crypto-friendly countries in Africa, it’s only natural that you might be interested in trading bitcoin, Ethereum, and the like. However, many regulated brokers don’t offer the opportunity to trade these yet: the volatility of these digital assets is very high, making for intense trading.

Tips and Advices for Beginners

Before deep-diving into the world of trading, it’s important to keep in mind that you could make a lot of money, and you might as well lose a lot of money on the same day. Whatever your style of trading - you might keep it safe by buying blue chips or getting involved in day trading - remember that there’s a steep learning curve, which means that success and failure are two parts of the same coin.

A good broker platform will always insist on its leverage, which is the opportunity to engage more money than you possess, and the possibility to win multiplied benefits. Well, you might as well lose them too on a bad trade, hurting your wallet in a dreadful way. Use the leverage effect with caution, or if you’re a total newbie, consider not using it at all. These tools are specifically designed to make some money, but sometimes, you won’t be the one making that dough.

After all, trading involves a great deal of knowledge, some audacity, and a fair amount of chance. Remember that you need to be aware of many things before investing in a financial product. You also need to get familiar with the many tools and resources: it might take years to start scratching the surface of the trading world.