African capital markets demonstrated remarkable resilience in 2025 and continued their positive performance into 2026, despite global economic shocks, geopolitical uncertainty and changing financial conditions.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), African equity markets recorded substantial growth, highlighting the region’s increasing attractiveness to investors and its potential to become a more significant player in global finance.
The OECD’s Africa Capital Markets Report 2026 examines how financial markets across the continent have responded to recent international developments.
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It also assesses investment trends, financing conditions and structural challenges while identifying priorities for strengthening African capital markets and attracting long-term investment.
One of the report’s most notable findings is the 49% increase in African equity market capitalisation during 2025. This performance significantly exceeded the 20% growth recorded across emerging markets and the 21% expansion in global markets.
The figures demonstrate the growing strength of African equities, supported by improving investor sentiment, stronger valuations and developments across several major financial markets.
However, despite this impressive performance, Africa continues to occupy a relatively small position in the global financial system. The continent accounts for only 0.9% of global financial assets, compared with its 2.7% contribution to global gross domestic product (GDP).
This gap highlights the considerable opportunities available to expand financial markets, mobilise domestic savings and attract international capital. The report identifies limited liquidity, concentrated ownership and relatively small market sizes as persistent obstacles.
These structural weaknesses restrict trading activity, discourage some institutional investors and make it difficult for businesses to access affordable long-term financing through public markets.
Corporate financing conditions have improved, with debt financing increasing compared with previous years. Syndicated loans continue to dominate corporate borrowing, while corporate bond issuance remains relatively low compared with other regions.
Expanding local bond markets could provide businesses with alternative funding sources and reduce excessive dependence on traditional bank lending. African companies raised approximately $6.7 billion through equity markets in 2025.
This included around $1 billion from initial public offerings (IPOs) and $5.7 billion from secondary offerings. However, only seven companies completed IPOs during the year, highlighting the limited pipeline of businesses accessing public equity markets.
By the end of 2025, the combined market capitalisation of African listed companies had reached approximately $836 billion, equivalent to 43% of the region’s GDP. However, market activity remains heavily concentrated geographically.
South Africa, Morocco, Egypt and Nigeria accounted for 88% of the total, demonstrating the dominance of a handful of established financial markets. Meanwhile, sovereign financing conditions have shown encouraging improvements.
Foreign-currency borrowing costs generally declined, while credit ratings improved among major sovereign issuers, including Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa. Additionally, domestic-currency debt issuance is expanding, offering governments opportunities to diversify funding sources and reduce exposure to foreign-exchange risks.
Looking ahead, the OECD report emphasises the importance of deeper, more liquid and diversified financial markets. Strengthening regulatory frameworks, improving corporate governance, encouraging institutional investment and expanding cross-border market integration could help unlock additional capital.
Africa’s strong equity performance provides an encouraging foundation. However, translating market growth into sustainable economic development will require reforms that make capital markets more accessible, competitive and attractive to domestic and international investors.