Capex Review: What Kenyan Traders Need to Know

Capex.com is winding down new client onboarding and redirecting prospects to NAGA Markets after the 2024 merger, while its remaining licensing sits offshore in Seychelles, not with Kenya's CMA. The broker launched in 2016 under Key Way Group and merged into the NAGA Group in August 2024. The proprietary CapexTrader platform and MT5 access are solid pieces of infrastructure, but infrastructure isn't the same as account protection.

The final read

Capex does not hold a CMA Kenya licence. Its only verified regulatory footprint relevant here is Seychelles FSA licence SD020, an offshore registration. The firm does not appear on the CMA register.

That does not make it a scam. It makes it an offshore entity whose oversight does not extend to Kenyan residents the way a CMA-licensed broker's does. When CMA rules say licensed brokers must hold KES 50 million in paid-up capital, segregate client funds, and submit to audits, those rules do not apply to a Seychelles-only firm serving Kenyan residents remotely.

Platform and Instruments

CapexTrader is the in-house web platform, and MT5 is available for traders who want the standard toolkit. Instruments number over 2,100: FX pairs, shares, ETFs, indices, commodities, crypto CFDs, plus the thematic ThematiX and StoX baskets.

The USD-denominated account adds a conversion layer. Depositing in KES through a card or wire means a conversion cost on the way in and again on the way out, and that cost recurs on every funding cycle.

Account Tiers and Spreads

Three tiers, three very different capital commitments.

No commission on standard CFDs. The spread is the cost, which is cleaner to model than a commission-plus-spread structure.

The Essential tier at $100 carries a proportionally higher spread cost. At ~1.4 pips on GBP/USD, a $100 account taking a 0.1 lot position pays roughly $1.40 per round turn in spread alone. Twenty round turns a month is 28% of capital spent on transaction costs before any market move. At the Original tier, 0.3 pips changes the cost structure of a strategy, so higher tiers pay for themselves in spread savings if the strategy has an edge worth protecting.

Swap-free accounts are available, which matters for the roughly 10-11% of Kenya's population that is Muslim, concentrated in coastal and north-eastern regions.

Risk Controls and Leverage

Historic Seychelles leverage was up to ~1:300. That number is not verified for new Kenyan clients because onboarding is closed.

At 1:300, a $300 margin deposit controls a $90,000 position. A 0.33% adverse move against you wipes the entire margin. GBP/USD can move 0.33% in a quiet hour. At max leverage with a mental stop at 0.5%, the position is gone before the stop triggers.

CMA-licensed brokers cap retail leverage at ~1:400 for major FX pairs. Offshore firms advertise far higher, sometimes 1:1000+, but without CMA oversight there is no local recourse if execution or withdrawal goes sideways. Sizing is the only risk control that stays fully in your hands.

A workable sizing rule: never risk more than 1% of account equity on a single trade. On a $1,000 Original account, that's $10 of risk per position. At 0.3 pips spread and a 20-pip stop on GBP/USD, that's 0.05 lots.

Deposit and Withdrawal Reality

Cards, bank wire, and e-wallets are the verified routes. M-Pesa and other local rails were not confirmed at review.

M-Pesa is the dominant deposit channel in Kenya, with per-transaction limits of KES 250,000 and daily limits of KES 500,000, and many locally-focused brokers offer instant, zero-fee KES deposits that way. Without that rail, funding runs through bank wire timelines of 1-3 business days, plus conversion costs.

Minimum deposit is $100 on Essential. No KES-denominated account has been verified.

What to Watch Closely

Post-NAGA merger, Capex stopped accepting new clients and points prospects to NAGA Markets instead. Any account approved through legacy routes sits on a platform that is not growing.

No CMA licence means no access to Kenya's Capital Markets Fraud Investigation Unit if something goes wrong, no KES 50 million paid-up capital requirement protecting deposits, and no CMA-mandated audit trail. Those protections only exist at CMA-licensed firms.

Tax treatment does not change based on which broker you use. The Kenya Revenue Authority treats forex and CFD profits as ordinary income for most retail traders, taxed on graduated bands from roughly 10% up to a top marginal rate of 35%. Trading through a company puts you at the 30% corporate rate. Tax residents declare worldwide income annually between 1 January and 30 June, including foreign-sourced trading gains. Deductible costs include platform fees, internet, and training. Verify with KRA at https://www.kra.go.ke/.

The offshore-only structure and the winding-down brand are both reasons to compare against brokers with stronger regulatory pedigrees and active client acquisition in the region.

Better Ground to Compare Against

Capex is one option, and the criteria that make any international broker worth your capital are clear.

A firm regulated by a tier-one authority (FCA in the UK, CySEC in the EU, or ASIC in Australia) operates under regimes that require segregated client funds, negative balance protection in most cases, and routine third-party audits.

Week-to-week operational details matter just as much: transparent commission and spread structures you can model, a minimum deposit that matches your intended position size, withdrawal timelines measured in hours not weeks, and local payment rails that do not add conversion drag. A live support line in your timezone helps too, because when a withdrawal is stuck at 11pm EAT, an email queue will not cut it.

Run any broker through that checklist before funding.