Nigeria accounted for 16 per cent of Africa’s excellent company debt on the finish of 2025, inserting it second behind South Africa amongst six international locations that collectively held 80 per cent of the continent’s whole, in keeping with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The OECD Africa Capital Markets Report 2026 launched on Friday, reported that South Africa held the biggest share at about 31 per cent, adopted by Nigeria and Egypt, at 16 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively.
Mauritius accounted for 9 per cent, Mozambique six per cent and Morocco 5 per cent, underscoring the focus of company borrowing in a handful of African economies.
The report confirmed that South Africa had retained its place because the continent’s largest company debt market over the previous 15 years, with excellent debt of $63 billion on the finish of 2025.
Egypt’s share, nonetheless, declined significantly over the interval. Companies headquartered within the nation accounted for 30 per cent of Africa’s company debt in 2010, barely under South Africa’s share. By 2025, that proportion had fallen by greater than half.
The OECD attributed the decline largely to a contraction in Egypt’s company debt inventory, moderately than substantial progress in different African markets.
Across most of the continent, syndicated loans remained the dominant supply of market-based company debt financing. Corporate bonds performed a extra outstanding position in Morocco, Gabon, Sudan and Togo.
Outside Morocco, nonetheless, the organisation stated the larger contribution of bonds largely mirrored issuance by monetary establishments and the restricted growth of syndicated mortgage markets.
The OECD famous that African economies had demonstrated some resilience regardless of troublesome exterior and macro-financial situations. Market reforms, elevated participation by home traders and enhancements in monetary infrastructure had supplied assist.
Nevertheless, the continent accounted for simply 0.4 per cent of international market capitalisation in 2024. Limited liquidity, shallow home markets and continued reliance on financial institution lending and exterior official financing remained important obstacles to capital market growth.
Despite these weaknesses, the report recognized substantial sources inside Africa that would assist meet its long-term financing wants.
It estimated the continent’s home capital swimming pools at greater than $4.4 trillion, comprising belongings held by banks, public growth banks, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurers, different monetary establishments and central banks.
Mobilising a larger proportion of these sources by way of home and regional capital markets may assist productive funding and strengthen monetary resilience, notably as entry to exterior funding remained constrained.
Africa’s home capital swimming pools represented roughly 0.9 per cent of international monetary belongings, the report said.
The OECD stated capital markets remained underused as a supply of long-term finance in contrast with different rising economies, limiting their contribution to progress and financial resilience.
In Nigeria, company borrowing patterns mirrored the continued dominance of financial institution financing, regardless of elevated use of business papers and company bonds.
According to Nairametrics, a evaluate of 19 of the biggest firms within the NGX 30 confirmed mixed debt of N6.25 trillion as of June 2026. Bank loans and different direct borrowing amenities accounted for N4.64 trillion, or 74.2 per cent of the whole.
Businesses have, nonetheless, more and more turned to business papers to satisfy their funding necessities.
Nairametrics Research reported that Nigerian firms raised about N1.61 trillion by way of business papers in 2025, up 40 per cent from the N1.15 trillion recorded in 2024. By May 2026, about 24 firms had issued business papers.
FMDQ information additionally confirmed that excellent company bonds reached roughly N2.30 trillion in June 2026, whereas excellent business papers stood at N465.34 billion.
These developments got here amid shifts in banking system liquidity. Nairametrics reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria recorded a internet liquidity injection of roughly N3.20 trillion in October 2026.
Maturing securities price N10.69 trillion exceeded the N7.49 trillion raised by way of Open Market Operations and Nigerian Treasury Bill auctions in the course of the month.
