Capex
Leverage is the first thing to check on any broker, and Capex deserves a straight answer on it. Trading from Kenya, the short version is this: Capex is not licensed by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) in Kenya, and after the NAGA merger the brand stopped accepting new clients and steers them toward NAGA Markets. The platform stack itself (CapexTrader plus MT5) and the 2,100+ instrument list are genuinely broad, but the account-opening door is the practical problem, not the product.
The Short Answer on Capex
CAPEX.com launched in 2016 under Key Way Group and, per the company's own licensing page, merged into the NAGA Group in August 2024. In Kenya that leaves a specific gap: there is no CMA entity. The only licence referenced is an offshore Seychelles FSA registration (SD020).
Kenyan rules are clear on the other side of the fence. Any firm offering online forex to Kenyan residents must hold a valid CMA licence, whether dealing, non-dealing or money-manager. Licensed firms must hold minimum paid-up capital of KES 50 million, segregate client funds, cap leverage and submit to audits.
Capex is not on that list. What that changes is where your money sits if something goes wrong: with an offshore entity you are relying on Seychelles oversight, not Kenyan. You can check any firm yourself at the CMA register, licensees.cma.or.ke.
What You Can Actually Trade
The instrument range is the strongest part of the offer. By the company's own count, Capex carries over 2,100 instruments across FX, shares, ETFs, indices, commodities and crypto CFDs. FX alone covers 70+ pairs.
| Asset class | What's included | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| FX | 70+ pairs | Spreads from 0.3 pip on XAU/USD |
| Shares | Global equities CFDs | Commission-free, spread-based |
| Indices | Major global benchmarks | CFDs only, no futures |
| Commodities | Metals, energy | Pricing gaps around rollovers |
| Crypto | Crypto CFDs | Not physical coins |
| Baskets | ThematiX, StoX | Thematic/sector exposure |
For a Kenyan trader running a London-New York overlap session, roughly 16:00-19:00 EAT, the FX and index coverage is enough for most strategies. Crypto and thematic baskets are CFDs, which means overnight financing, and that is a cost to price before sizing a swing position.
Account Tiers and Costs
Capex runs three tiers, and the spreads scale with them.
| Account | Minimum | XAU/USD spread from |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | USD 100 | ~1.4 pips |
| Original | USD 1,000 | ~0.3 pips |
| Signature | USD 25,000 | Tightest tier |
Capex states there is no commission on standard CFDs, so the spread is the whole cost on most trades. The Essential tier at roughly 1.4 pips is workable for position trading and painful for scalping. If your edge is measured in a couple of pips per trade, the spread on the entry tier eats it before the market has done anything.
Base currencies are USD and EUR. A KES-denominated account was not verified, so expect a conversion cost on every deposit and withdrawal. On an account that holds USD, that is a real drag on a Kenyan trader's returns, and it is easy to overlook because it appears at the funding step, not in the spread table.
The Platform Stack
Two platforms are on offer: CapexTrader, the proprietary WebTrader, and MT5. There is no MT4 here. If your toolkit, indicators or EAs are built for MT4, that is a migration problem, not a footnote.
CapexTrader covers the basics and runs in the browser, which suits a trader who moves between a laptop and a phone. MT5 is the more serious option: it carries more timeframes, a deeper order book view in some instruments and a real strategy-tester. If you already run MT5 elsewhere, the chart time you have invested carries over.
For a Kenyan trader, the practical question is where your automation lives. Anything running on MT5 should transfer. Anything on MT4 needs rebuilding.
Funding and Local Rails
Capex lists cards, bank wire and e-wallets. M-Pesa and local rails were not verified at review.
That is a significant gap. Kenya is mobile-money-first. M-Pesa is the dominant deposit and withdrawal channel locally, with Airtel Money and T-Kash behind it, plus Pesalink for real-time inter-bank KES and Visa/Mastercard. Many brokers active here denominate in KES and process local-rail deposits instantly with no fee.
The minimum on the Essential account is USD 100. On paper, doable. In practice, it means a card or wire transfer, and given that a KES account is not verified, a conversion at both ends.
Where It Sits Against Other Options
The question is not whether Capex is a bad platform. It is not. The question is whether the combination of no local licence, no verified M-Pesa rails, no KES account and onboarding being closed gets you to a workable setup.
The criteria that separate brokers:
- Regulation at a serious tier, FCA, CySEC or ASIC, with segregation of client funds in writing
- Transparent, published costs, including the conversion spread and overnight financing
- A funding route that matches how you actually move money, which in Kenya usually means M-Pesa
- A track record long enough to have survived at least one bad market
- Support you can reach during your trading hours, not a ticket queue
Anyone offering online forex in Kenya without a CMA licence sits outside the local framework, and that is the same for every offshore brand, not just this one. Where brokers differ is in how strong their home regulator is and how clean their cost disclosure is. A broker under FCA or CySEC supervision is a different proposition from one held only by an offshore registration, and that gap is where your protection actually lives. Choose on regulator, segregation, cost transparency and funding fit.
Tax on Trading Profits
If you are tax resident in Kenya, your trading gains are not capital gains in most retail cases. KRA treats forex and CFD profit as ordinary income, added to your other taxable income and taxed on graduated bands from roughly 10% up to a top marginal rate of 35%. Trading through a company, the corporate rate is 30%.
Residents file an annual return covering worldwide income, including foreign-sourced trading gains, between 1 January and 30 June. Installment tax falls on 20 April, June, September and December. Deductible costs include platform fees, internet and training.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tax treatment | Ordinary income, not capital gains |
| Bands | ~10% up to 35% marginal |
| Company rate | 30% |
| Filing window | 1 Jan - 30 June |
| Installments | 20 Apr / Jun / Sep / Dec |
| Deductibles | Platform fees, internet, training |
There is no exemption for trading through an offshore broker. Where the money is booked has no bearing on where the gain is taxable.
Can I open a Capex account from Kenya?
Practically, no. Capex is not CMA-licensed in Kenya, and after the NAGA merger the brand no longer accepts new clients, directing them to NAGA Markets instead. The only licence referenced is an offshore Seychelles FSA registration, SD020.
Is Capex legal in Kenya?
Retail forex and CFD trading is legal and regulated in Kenya, and any firm serving residents must hold a CMA licence. Capex does not hold one. It is not operating under Kenyan supervision, which means no local recourse if a dispute arises.
How do I check a broker's status in Kenya?
Go to the official CMA register at licensees.cma.or.ke and search the firm name directly. As of the review, roughly 10 non-dealing forex brokers were licensed, including TPXM Global Kenya Limited, licensed September 2025. If a brand is not there, it is not CMA-regulated.
What leverage would I get with Capex?
Historically, the offshore Seychelles entity quoted up to around 1:300, per the company's licensing page. That figure is not verified for new Kenyan clients because onboarding is closed. For comparison, CMA-licensed brokers are capped at roughly 1:400 on major FX pairs for retail accounts. Higher leverage is not an advantage; it shortens the distance to a margin call.
What should I check before funding any offshore broker instead?
Regulator first, because that determines your protection. Then fund segregation, then published costs, then whether withdrawals go through M-Pesa without a fiat detour, then how long the firm has been operating. A broker under FCA, CySEC or ASIC supervision, with segregated funds and a documented fee schedule, is the standard to hold every candidate against.
How This Looks Beside the Alternatives
Set Capex next to a CMA-licensed Kenyan non-dealing broker and the comparison is not close on access. That local firm gives you M-Pesa funding, KES accounts, KES 500 minimums in some cases, local dispute recourse and a leverage cap that forces discipline. What it may not give you is the same breadth of instruments, the same tier-one platform stack, or razor spreads on the entry tier.
Set it next to a well-regulated international broker and the picture flips. A brand under FCA or CySEC supervision offers a stronger protection regime than an offshore FSA registration, plus typically better pricing on liquid FX pairs. The trade-off is that funding still routes through cards or wires rather than M-Pesa, and the conversion cost still lands on you because the account is denominated in USD or EUR.
Capex sits in an awkward middle: offshore regulation, no local rails, no KES account, and new onboarding closed. For a Kenyan trader building a first setup, a CMA-licensed broker or a tier-one regulated international brand answers the practical questions better. If you already traded with Capex before the merger, your route is the NAGA migration, and your job is to check that the receiving entity's regulatory standing and cost sheet hold up before you move size across. Compare on regulator, on funding fit and on published costs. Those three separate a broker you can hold for years from one you migrate away from in six months.