CMA greenlights new Britam and Zimele funds for global equities and green SMEs
Key points
- CMA approved new unit-trust sub-funds and an Alternative Investment Fund for Kenyan investors.
- Britam: Multi Asset Special Fund and Enhanced Global Equities Special Fund under its unit-trust umbrella.
- Zimele: USD Money Market, USD Fixed Income, shilling Fixed Income, Education Plan and Saving Plan sub-products.
- Britam’s Green Investment Fund LLP approved as an AIF for growth-stage green MSMEs in Kenya and the EAC via equity and mezzanine structures.
Retail savers who only know money-market funds just got a longer product shelf. The Capital Markets Authority has cleared a slate of Britam and Zimele offerings plus a green Alternative Investment Fund, Eastleigh Voice reported on 12 August 2026.
Britam Asset Managers may register the Multi Asset Special Fund — active exposure to local and international equities, fixed income and alternatives for long-term growth and income — and the Enhanced Global Equities Special Fund, which gives shilling-denominated access to world equity markets without forcing investors to open foreign currency accounts. Under the Zimele umbrella, CMA approved 5 named product lines: the Zimele USD Money Market Fund, Zimele USD Fixed Income Fund, Zimele Fixed Income Fund, Zimele Education Plan and Zimele Saving Plan, expanding both currency and goal-based choices.
Separately, Britam can register the Green Investment Fund LLP as an Alternative Investment Fund aimed at growth-stage green and greening MSMEs mainly in Kenya and the East African Community. Structures may include direct equity, mezzanine and quasi-equity — capital that climate-focused firms often cannot get from plain bank loans. CMA framed the package as market deepening and innovation, while warning investors to understand risks and use only licensed intermediaries. Related market context: CMA had days earlier also moved Kenya’s first local banking-stocks ETF toward NSE listing, underscoring a busy product-approval week for the regulator.
Choice is not the same as safety
Global equity and private green SME funds can swing harder than a government-paper money market fund. Goal-based labels help savers plan school fees; they do not erase market or liquidity risk. The green AIF’s real test will be ticket sizes and exits for small enterprises, not the approval press note.
Finance desk: Finance. Verified product names and CMA approval list from Eastleigh Voice.
Investors should demand fund fact sheets and fee tables before any switch. Advisers should map risk classes clearly for first-time USD products.
Without transparent performance reporting, “green” and “global” become marketing colours rather than portfolio tools.
Based on Eastleigh Voice reporting of CMA approvals. Product availability depends on fund registration completion and distributors.
