Africa’s corporate debt pool reached $211 billion at the end of 2025, but its reliance on syndicated loans and larger borrowers leaves smaller firms with limited access to market financing, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said.
The total covered corporate bonds, syndicated loans and private credit across the continent’s 54 countries. Africa accounted for 2.7% of global gross domestic product but only 0.3% of outstanding corporate debt worldwide, according to the OECD’s Africa Capital Markets Report 2026, published Nov. 6.
Six economies — Egypt, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria and South Africa — accounted for 80% of the debt. South Africa alone represented 30%, the report said. The OECD also found that median deal sizes for African corporate bonds and syndicated loans were larger than those in emerging markets overall, a pattern that leaves smaller firms relying mainly on direct bank loans.
Syndicated loans made up 81% of the outstanding debt stock. Corporate bonds totaled $35 billion, down 44% in real terms from their 2015 peak. At most 20 corporate bonds were issued in Africa during 2025, and 17 came from financial companies.
The terms of borrowing also point to refinancing and currency exposure. By loan value, African syndicated lending had an average maturity of about five years in 2025; the figure for other emerging markets was 7.5 years. Local-currency debt made up 17% of corporate issuance. The OECD said depreciation can raise the burden on companies that owe money in foreign currencies.
Companies also raised $6.703 billion through public equity in 2025. Seven firms raised $1.007 billion in initial public offerings, while 38 companies brought in $5.696 billion through secondary offerings, according to the report’s equity-market figures.
The OECD recommends steadier inflation, less exchange-rate volatility, stronger regulation, a credible sovereign benchmark yield curve and a deeper base of local institutional investors to support bond-market development. Domestic insurers held 19% of corporate bonds in 2025, behind only foreign investors.
