Nigeria accounts for 16% of Africa’s corporate debt – Report – Daily Trust

Nigeria is one of six African international locations accountable for 80 per cent of the continent’s excellent corporate debt, accounting for 16 per cent of the full as of December 2025, in response to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The OECD, in its Africa Capital Markets Report 2026, stated Nigeria had the second-largest share of corporate debt in Africa, behind South Africa, which accounted for 31 per cent, whereas Egypt ranked third with 13 per cent.

Mauritius, Mozambique and Morocco accounted for 9 per cent, six per cent and 5 per cent, respectively, bringing the mixed share of the six international locations to 80 per cent.

The findings spotlight Nigeria’s vital place in Africa’s corporate debt market but additionally increase questions concerning the nation’s rising debt publicity, the price of borrowing and the power of companies to entry inexpensive long-term financing.

For Nigeria, the figures come towards the backdrop of rising public debt, excessive rates of interest and rising authorities borrowing from the home capital market, situations which have intensified competitors for accessible funds between the private and non-private sectors.

Nigeria’s debt problem is especially vital as a result of the federal government can also be relying closely on home borrowing to finance its finances and meet debt-service obligations.

This has raised considerations concerning the strain of authorities borrowing on liquidity, rates of interest and private-sector funding.

Daily Trust stories that Nigeria’s complete public debt rose to N166.79 trillion as of June 30, 2026, in response to the Debt Management Office (DMO).

The determine confirmed that the nation’s public debt inventory elevated by N7.44 trillion inside three months, rising from N159.35 trillion on the finish of March 2026 to N166.79 trillion by the top of June.

The DMO is but to launch determine for the nine-month interval however with rising debt numbers, it’s projected that the debt profile would balloon additional and will hit over N200 trillion by the top of the yr if the newest borrowing is added.

The Federal Government proposed new borrowing of N29.2tn in its 2026 finances, including to considerations concerning the rising value of servicing public debt and the sustainability of its financing technique.

Economist and monetary analyst, Marcel Okeke, has repeatedly warned that heavy authorities borrowing from the home market may crowd out private-sector debtors, significantly producers and small companies that rely upon financial institution credit score to finance operations and growth.

Corporate borrowing stays bank-dependent

The OECD report famous that corporate debt market improvement differs significantly throughout African economies, with syndicated loans remaining the dominant kind of market-based corporate financing in most international locations.

Although Nigeria has witnessed elevated exercise in business papers and corporate bonds, financial institution loans stay the foremost supply of funding for many massive firms.

Despite the challenges, the OECD recognized vital alternatives for African economies to deepen their capital markets by mobilising home monetary assets.

It estimated that Africa has greater than $4.4tn in home capital swimming pools, comprising belongings held by banks, pension funds, insurance coverage firms, sovereign wealth funds, public improvement banks, central banks and different monetary establishments.

The organisation argued that directing extra of these assets in the direction of home and regional capital markets may present long-term funding for infrastructure, industrial improvement and different productive investments.

It additionally famous that Africa accounted for solely 0.4 per cent of international market capitalisation in 2024, reflecting the comparatively restricted depth of its monetary markets.

“Overall, capital markets remain underutilised as a source of long-term finance — particularly when compared to other emerging-market economies — limiting their contribution to economic growth and resilience,” the OECD stated.