OECD Warns Africa’s Corporate Debt Markets Remain Underdeveloped
JOHANNESBURG,- Africa’s corporate debt markets are far too small to match the continent’s economic weight and growing financing needs, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said on Friday, with outstanding market-based debt totalling only $211 billion at the end of 2025. The shortfall could impinge both economic growth and leaders’ aims to expand local financing in order to protect companies and countries on the continent during periods of global market stress, when foreign lenders often pull back from markets perceived as risky, the OECD warned. “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 s…