Zimele Asset Management

What Zimele Asset Management does

Zimele Asset Management is a Kenya-based, privately-held asset management company founded in 1998 and headquartered at Ecobank Towers, Nairobi. The company operates unit trust and pension fund products under dual regulatory oversight from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA). Its product portfolio includes the Zimele Savings Plan (Fixed Income Fund) yielding 12.65% p.a., the Guaranteed Pension Fund (12.54% p.a.), the Personal Pension Fund, and the Balanced Fund. Supporting modules include NSSF Tier II contracting-out services, the ChamaManager platform for investment groups, Zimele Academy for financial literacy, and Zimele Advisor for goal-planning calculators. The company also offers an Income Drawdown Plan targeting retirees in decumulation phase.

The underlying technology stack is a digital distribution platform comprising a web portal (portal.zimele.co.ke), an Android mobile application, and dedicated paybill integration with M-Pesa (numbers 501101, 501100, 4097349, 4097347) plus Pesalink and direct bank deposit rails (Standard Chartered, ABSA, KCB). ChamaManager adds group-level functionality including multi-signatory security, automated M-Pesa reconciliation, and persistent member-level transaction history. An employer portal (employers.zimele.co.ke) supports B2B NSSF Tier II contribution redirection. No public APIs, SDKs, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed.

Zimele's revenue model is subscription/recurring unit trust management fees on AUM across its funds, with no minimum deposit requirement making the Savings Plan accessible to informal-sector savers. The ChamaManager platform is freemium, monetized indirectly through the underlying Zimele Savings Plan into which chama contributions flow. The go-to-market motion is self-serve / product-led growth targeting individual Kenyan savers, chama investment groups, and NSSF Tier II contributors via digital onboarding, M-Pesa micro-deposits, and content marketing through Zimele Academy. The customer base is entirely SMB/retail, distributed across 3,000+ chama groups and 10,000+ members, with no disclosed enterprise concentration. No revenue, funding, headcount trend, or ownership detail is publicly disclosed.

Name

Zimele Asset Management

Legal name

Zimele Asset Management Company

Website

https://zimele.co.ke

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Zimele Asset Management is a Nairobi-based, CMA- and RBA-regulated Kenyan asset manager founded in 1998 offering unit trust and pension products (Savings Plan, Guaranteed Pension, Personal Pension, Balanced Fund), NSSF Tier II services, the ChamaManager group platform, and financial education tools to individual savers and investment groups.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pension and Asset Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Pension Funds (52511), Open-End Investment Funds (525910)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Discretionary Portfolio Management (Retail) (FSAAAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Retirement & Pension Wealth (401(k)/IRA/SIPP/Superannuation Retail) (FSAAAAAJ), Money Market Funds (FSAAAEAC)

Keywords

• Unit trust funds
• Pension fund management
• Asset management
• Investment advisory
• Chama investment platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Unit Trust Management Fees: Zimele earns management fees from operating its unit trust products including the Fixed Income Fund (Savings Plan) and Balanced Fund. Standard unit trust charges apply to investor accounts.
2. Pension Fund Management: Revenue generated from managing pension funds including Guaranteed Pension Fund and Personal Pension Plan, with funds pooled and invested in diversified portfolios.
3. ChamaManager Platform: Free platform for chama management; revenue derived from the underlying Zimele Savings Plan investments managed for group members.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Zimele Asset Management is a Kenya-based, CMA- and RBA-regulated asset management firm that offers unit trust funds (Fixed Income/Savings Plan and Balanced Fund) and pension schemes (Guaranteed Pension Fund, Personal Pension Fund, and NSSF Tier II contracting-out). The company also provides the ChamaManager platform for managing investment groups (chamas), with all deposits accepted via M-Pesa, Pesalink, and bank transfers through a self-serve digital portal and Android app.

Product overview

Zimele Asset Management operates as a Kenyan unit trust and pension fund management company offering a platform of interconnected financial products. The core portfolio includes the Zimele Savings Plan (Fixed Income Fund) as the primary savings vehicle, the Guaranteed Pension Fund and Personal Pension Fund for retirement planning, and the Balanced Fund for diversified investment. Supporting modules include Zimele ChamaManager for group investment administration, NSSF Tier II management services for employer pension contributions, Zimele Academy for financial education, and Zimele Advisor for goal-planning calculators. The company also offers an Income Drawdown Plan for retirees. All products are regulated by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ChamaManager: Free platform for investment group management providing transparent record-keeping, automated reconciliation with M-Pesa, and competitive returns through Zimele's regulated Savings Plan.
• Zimele Academy
• Zimele Advisor

Products and services

• Zimele Savings Plan (Fixed Income Fund)

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,000+ chama groups and 10,000+ members using the ChamaManager platform
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ChamaManager EcosystemcoreTechnology or IntegrationZimele's ChamaManager platform has been featured and covered by major Kenyan media outlets including Business Daily Africa, Citizen TV, KTN, The Star, Capital FM, and PD.co.ke, indicating industry recognition and broad media partnership relationships.
• National Social Security Fund (NSSF)coreOthersZimele is registered with RBA to receive NSSF Tier II contributions. Under the NSSF Act 2013, employers and employees can opt to send their Tier II contributions to private registered pension schemes like Zimele's Guaranteed Personal Pension Plan instead of NSSF.
• Capital Markets Authority (CMA)coreOthersZimele is licensed and regulated by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), Kenya's regulator for capital markets and collective investment schemes. This regulatory relationship enables Zimele to legally operate its unit trust products.
• Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA)coreOthersZimele is licensed and regulated by the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA), Kenya's regulator for retirement benefits schemes. This regulatory oversight covers Zimele's pension products including Guaranteed Pension Fund and Personal Pension Plan.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• NCBA Asset Management: NCBA's wealth and asset management unit provides unit trusts, pensions and managed portfolios to Kenyan retail and corporate clients — a broad incumbent with comparable CMA-regulated products but with significantly larger balance sheet.
• Standard Chartered Bank Kenya (Wealth & Investment): Wealth and investment arm of a global bank offering unit trusts and managed portfolios to Kenyan HNW and emerging-affluent clients — broader incumbent in the same regulatory category, with deeper institutional resources.
• Equity Investment Bank (Asset Management): Asset management arm of Kenya's largest bank by customer base, offering unit trusts and investment products across its branch and digital channels — overlapping with Zimele in retail unit trust space but operating as part of a much larger banking franchise.

Direct peers

• ICEA Lion Asset Management: One of Kenya's largest unit trust and pension fund managers, regulated by CMA and RBA. Directly comparable to Zimele in offering unit trusts, pension schemes, and managed funds to retail and institutional investors in Kenya.
• CIC Asset Management: CIC Group's asset management unit provides unit trusts and pensions to Kenyan retail and group investors — overlapping with Zimele's chama-friendly, RBA-registered pension and savings offerings.
• Old Mutual Investment Group Kenya: Major Kenyan asset manager offering unit trusts, pension plans, and wealth management products. Comparable to Zimele across retail and institutional channels, though with materially larger AUM and brand.
• Sanlam Investments East Africa: Sanlam's Kenyan operation runs unit trusts, pension funds, and wealth solutions across retail and corporate clients — a comparable licensed product set serving similar Kenyan customer segments.
• African Alliance Kenya: Pan-African investment manager with a Kenyan presence offering unit trusts and managed portfolios to retail and institutional investors — comparable in product mix and regulatory category to Zimele.
• Britam Asset Managers: Pan-African financial group with a large Kenyan asset management arm offering unit trusts, pensions, and managed portfolios to retail and institutional clients — directly overlapping with Zimele's CMA/RBA-regulated product set.

Emerging players

• Kuza (Chama Management Platform): Mobile-first chama and group savings management platform targeting Kenyan investment groups — overlaps with Zimele's ChamaManager in serving chamas but lacks the underlying licensed fund management product that monetizes Zimele's chama base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/zimeleam
• Facebookfacebook.com/ZimeleAM
• Instagraminstagram.com/ZimeleAM
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zimele-asset-management-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Zimele Asset Management