Exinity Capital East Africa Limited, which was founded earlier this year by Andrey Dashin, owner of brokerage companies Alpari and FXTM, has been granted an FX brokerage license in Kenya.
According to the nation’s financial regulator, the approval obtained by Exinity marks the fourth non-dealing online foreign Exchange broker to be licensed by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA). The latest entrant into African Forex scene was preceded by EGM Securities Ltd (FXPesa), which received its first license in 2018, followed by SCFM Ltd (Scope Markets) in 2019, and most recently Pepperstone last month.
This fourth brokerage license allows Exinity Capital East Africa to provide its clients with access to currency markets but without being engaged in market-making or managed accounts activities.
The new African entity is part of Exinity Group, which was launched earlier this year by entrepreneur, Andrey Dashin. The group is chaired by FXTM Co-founder, Olga Rybalkina and is comprised of the various retail businesses owned by Dashin, which includes Alpari International, ForexTime (FXTM) and the new brand in Nairobi.
Oversight of Online FX brokers Came under CMA
Applicants seeking a forex license in Kenya must be a company limited by shares, have a minimum capital of 30 million Kenya shillings ($277,000), and maintain the minimum capital at plus 5 percent of liabilities owed to customers in excess of this amount. In addition, the firm has to ensure that 80 percent of its capital is in form of cash or equivalents.
The applicants that operate as a subsidiary of a regulated foreign forex firm are required to provide proof to confirm the existence of such a relationship. Additionally, its parent entity must provide a letter from that regulator confirming that it is not only licensed but also in good standing and that there is no objection to operate in Kenya.
Commenting on the news, CMA’s acting CEO, Wyckliffe Shamiah said: "This is an important milestone in the online foreign exchange market as it gives Kenyans a choice of four non-dealing online foreign exchange brokers licensed by CMA. In line with the Authority’s investor protection mandate, we urge Kenyans to only trade through licensed entities to avoid the risks associated with firms that are not licensed. We are closely collaborating with licensees to identify strategies that can help us protect unsuspecting Kenyans from unlicensed entities where they are not protected by the regulator."
