The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private investment arm, will acquire a 6.5 per cent stake in Quickmart through the retailer’s initial public offering, committing KSh1.94bn ($15 million) as a cornerstone investor.

The commitment values the IPO at KSh15bn and places Quickmart’s total valuation at KSh30bn; the IFC will purchase 258.67 million shares, about 13 per cent of the offer, which translates into the 6.5 per cent holding.

Quickmart paid a dividend of KSh1.65bn, a payout ratio of 109 per cent, and said it will maintain shareholder distributions at a minimum of 80 per cent of earnings in the coming years.

For the year ended December 2025, Quickmart reported net profit of KSh1.51bn, up 33 per cent, and revenue of KSh50.43bn, up 9.3 per cent; the chain operates 72 stores across 16 counties and is estimated to hold about 15 per cent of the Kenyan supermarket market, making it the second-largest after Naivas.

Prior to the IPO, Adenia Partners owned 50.79 per cent of Sokoni Retail Kenya Limited (SRKL), the Kinuthia family held 31.83 per cent, the Tumaini founders owned 12.02 per cent and chief executive Peter Kang’iri held 5.36 per cent.

If the offer is fully subscribed, Adenia’s holding will fall to 25.4 per cent, the Kinuthia family’s to 15.9 per cent, the Tumaini founders’ to 6.01 per cent and Kang’iri’s to 2.68 per cent, leaving the IFC as the third-largest shareholder behind Adenia and the Kinuthia family.

The allocation plan sets aside 35 per cent of the offer for Kenyan institutional investors (equivalent to an eventual 17.5 per cent stake), 20 per cent each for Kenyan retail and foreign investors, 12 per cent for East African Community investors and 13 per cent for the IFC.

“As Adenia, we are committed to staying on board and supporting Quickmart management through its next phase, and look forward to welcoming on board our incoming new shareholders, with a special mention of IFC, who are our cornerstone investor,” said Martha Osier, a partner at Adenia, during the formal launch of the IPO.

The IFC clarified that its participation should not be interpreted as a recommendation or endorsement of the Quickmart IPO to other investors.

The IFC previously participated in a consortium that acquired a 31.5 per cent stake in Naivas for KSh6bn in 2020, contributing $15 million (about KSh1.8bn), and the consortium sold the stake for $119.68 million in June 2022, more than doubling the original investment.

The institution is also investing $90 million (about KSh11.7bn) in the ongoing Airtel Money IPO on the London Stock Exchange, which targets KSh90.5bn.

The Quickmart IPO involves the sale of two billion existing shares, equivalent to half of the company, by its current owners through SRKL; the owners include Adenia Partners, the Kinuthia family, the Tumaini founders and CEO Peter Kang’iri.

The IFC’s investment marks its first commitment to a Kenyan public share offer of this nature since the 2000s, highlighting a renewed focus on Kenya’s consumer and capital markets.