Nigeria ranks second among African nations in corporate debt, accounting for 16 per cent of the continent's total outstanding corporate borrowing as of late 2025. This was revealed in the OECD Africa Capital Markets Report 2026, according to THISDAYLIVE.
The findings highlight how heavily corporate borrowing is concentrated on the continent. Just six nations control 80 per cent of Africa's overall corporate debt. South Africa leads the group with 31 per cent, holding an outstanding debt of $63 billion by the end of 2025. Egypt comes third with 13 per cent, followed by Mauritius at nine per cent, Mozambique at six per cent, and Morocco at five per cent.
Over the past 15 years, South Africa has kept its spot as the biggest corporate debt market in Africa. Meanwhile, Egypt's share dropped sharply from 30 per cent in 2010 to 13 per cent in 2025, largely due to a contraction in its local debt stock rather than rapid growth in other countries.
Across most African markets, syndicated loans continue to serve as the main vehicle for corporate debt financing. Corporate bonds are more common in nations like Morocco, Gabon, Sudan, and Togo, where they are mostly driven by financial institutions because loan markets remain small.
The OECD observed that Africa held only 0.4 per cent of global market capitalisation in 2024. Low liquidity, shallow domestic markets, and high reliance on bank loans remain significant hurdles. Even so, the continent possesses over $4.4 trillion in domestic capital across banks, pension funds, insurers, sovereign wealth funds, and central banks that could be mobilised for long-term growth.
In Nigeria, traditional bank borrowing still dominates business finance. An assessment of 19 major firms on the NGX 30 revealed total debt of N6.25 trillion by June 2026, with bank loans making up N4.64 trillion, or roughly 74.2 per cent.
Local companies are also looking to the debt capital market. Nigerian businesses raised N1.61 trillion through commercial papers in 2025, marking a 40 per cent jump from the previous year. By June 2026, outstanding corporate bonds on the FMDQ stood at around N2.30 trillion, while commercial papers reached N465.34 billion.
