A report published on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 by The Organization for Cooperation and economic development (OECD) mentions that the African companies have raised in the last 25 years, around 220 billion USD in equity on local stock markets, or 1% only of the total value of equity raised worldwide and 3% of that captured by companies in emerging markets.

The “African Capital Markets Report 2025” from the OECD indicates that African equity markets have grown between 2000 and 2024, the market capitalization having increased by 27, to reach 560 billion USD. However, activity in these markets remains very concentrated, with South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria bringing together three more than 80% of the total market capitalization. The volumes Exchanges remain generally low and concentrated on a few large businesses, in part due to the high cost of operations.

Outstanding corporate debt in the form of bonds and syndicated loans remains modest in African countries, both as a percentage of GDP only in absolute terms, compared to global averages. Au Over the past few years, it has declined by around 230 billion USD in 2020 to 180 billion USD in 2024, which represents barely 1% of the debt global businesses and around 5% of those in emerging markets.

Also, four economies such as South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and the Republic of Mauritius alone hold around 60% of total assets on the continent, illustrating a concentration corporate debt in some developed financial markets, and more generally, the link between the depth of debt markets of enterprises and the level of economic and financial development.

According to the document, these trends confirm that limited access to finance is a major obstacle to business growth in many African countries.

The report also indicates that African countries remain exposed to high exchange rate risk, a large part of the debt companies and sovereign debt being denominated in foreign currencies, unlike most advanced economies. This situation is due to general weakness and fragmentation of regulatory frameworks and market infrastructures, with a strong dependence on capital foreign investors, and the underdevelopment of institutional investors nationals.

Furthermore, in order to improve the role of capital markets in corporate finance in Africa, the report of the OECD recommends the public authorities to take further measures to strengthen them the activity. In particular, it recommends the establishment of frameworks for admission to flexible ratings, and improving transparency to attract a greater number of transmitters. Strong and transparent regulatory frameworks are also needed to strengthen the role of institutional investors.

It is also recommended to strengthen the protection of the interests of insured persons, to increase participation in plans of retirement through automatic membership, to promote the diversification of portfolios and to facilitate long-term investments, as measures conceivable.