For some firms, an umbrella was the only return until Covid struck

Shareholders going through proceedings during the Safaricom AGM held at Bomas of Kenya in 2018. [Wilberfoce Okwiri, Standard]

For the first time in decades, Alois Chami, a veteran investor at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), won’t take home a branded umbrella gifted by any of the 60-odd listed companies where he has invested his cash.

The umbrella is a traditional “goodie” among others such as T-shirts, caps, free lunches and vouchers that companies gift shareholders who attend their Annual General Meetings (AGMs).