(NAIROBI, KENYA) – The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank, is acquiring a 6.5% stake in Kenyan supermarket chain Quickmart for KES 1.94 billion ($15 million / £11.3 million) through the retailer’s initial public offerin.
The investment makes the IFC a cornerstone investor in Quickmart’s KES 15 billion ($115.6 million / £87.1 million) IPO, which values the company at KES 30 billion ($231.3 million / £174.3 million) . The IFC will purchase 258.67 million shares, representing approximately 13% of the total offer shares.
The IFC’s decision to invest in the Quickmart IPO, pending approval by its board, is its first such commitment in recent public offers in Kenya dating back to the 2000s . Other large institutional investments in Kenyan IPOs have typically come in after offers open, rather than through pre-sale public commitments.
Quickmart shares are being offered at KES 7.50 each . The shares are expected to begin trading on the Nairobi Securities Exchange on 12th November, 2026.
This investment marks the IFC’s return to Kenya’s retail sector four years after it sold a minority stake in Naivas Limited. Between 2020 and 2022, the IFC participated in a consortium that bought and sold a 31.5% stake in Naivas for a substantial profit . In that transaction, the IFC invested $15 million, equivalent to KES 1.8 billion at the time, a commitment matched by its proposed investment in Quickmart shares.
The DEG-led group subsequently sold the Naivas stake for $119.68 million in June 2022 to a consortium led by Mauritian conglomerate IBL Group and French sovereign wealth fund Proparco, more than doubling their original investment from two years earlier.
In Quickmart’s IPO, current owners including Mauritius-registered private equity fund Adenia Partners, the founders of Quickmart and Tumaini supermarkets, and chief executive officer Peter Kang’iri are offloading two billion shares, equivalent to a 50% stake . Their shares are held through an investment vehicle known as Sokoni Retail Kenya Limited .
“As Adenia, we are committed to staying on board and supporting Quickmart management through its next phase, and look forward to welcoming on board our incoming new shareholders, with a special mention to IFC, who are our cornerstone investor,” said Martha Osier, a partner at Adenia, during the formal launch of the IPO on Tuesday .
Cornerstone investors are institutional or high net worth investors who agree in advance to buy a specific stake in an IPO, signalling confidence in an offer to other buyers.
The IFC said its participation in the sale is not an endorsement or recommendation to other investors to participate in the IPO.
The retailer paid its shareholders a dividend of KES 1.65 billion ($12.7 million / £9.6 million), representing a payout ratio of 109%, and aims to distribute at least 80% of its earnings to shareholders in the coming years .
Going into the listing, Adenia holds a 50.79% stake in SRKL, the Kinuthia family 31.83%, the Tumaini founders 12.02% and Mr Kang’iri 5.36% . If the offer is fully subscribed, Adenia’s stake will drop to 25.4%, with the stakes of the Quickmart and Tumaini founders falling to 15.9% and 6.01% respectively. Mr Kang’iri’s holding will halve to 2.68%.
This means the IFC will enter as the third-biggest shareholder behind Adenia and the Kinuthia family after the offer.
The IPO could usher in other large investors, given the allocation criteria that sets aside 35% of the offer shares for Kenyan institutional investors, equivalent to an ultimate holding of 17.5% of the company’s issued shares . Local retail and foreign investors have been allocated 20% each, East African Community investors 12%, and the IFC 13%.
The IFC is simultaneously investing $90 million (KES 11.7 billion / £67.8 million) in the ongoing Airtel Money IPO on the London Stock Exchange, which is targeting KES 90.5 billion ($697.5 million / £525.3 million) . Airtel Money is the fintech arm of telecommunications firm Airtel Africa, which operates in 14 African countries including Kenya.
Quickmart is now the second largest retail chain in Kenya behind Naivas by store count and turnover, with an estimated 15% share of the market. The company has a current store count of 72, in 16 counties .
In the year ended December 2025, Quickmart reported a 33% growth in net profit to KES 1.51 billion ($11.6 million / £8.8 million). Sales rose by 9.3% to KES 50.43 billion ($388.7 million / £292.7 million) in the year .
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