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While global financial centres contend with subdued growth and elevated interest rates, Africa’s capital markets have entered 2026 with notable momentum.
Ethiopia is set to transform its insurance industry with a new draft law allowing foreign insurers to enter the market for the first time in decades.
South Africa’s National Treasury is proposing significant reforms to its exchange control regulations, moving from a rigid system to a modern, risk-based framework aimed at attracting foreign investment and preventing capital flight.
As leaders gather for the Africa We Build Summit in April 2026, the Africa Finance Corporation warns that Africa’s infrastructure crisis stems not from a lack of funding, but from execution failures.
On March 31st 2026, Nigeria announced it would borrow $5 billion from First Abu Dhabi Bank through a financial instrument most people have never heard of: a total return swap.
Ecobank is collaborating with Bank of China to introduce direct local currency to yuan settlement services by 2026, aiming to streamline payments for African SMEs engaged in trade with China.
African currencies have come under pressure as the ongoing Middle East conflict drives up oil prices, disrupts shipping flows, and sends inflationary shocks across the continent.
As digital finance matures, access is no longer the benchmark. Infrastructure that supports frequent, low-value transactions is becoming central to sustained usage and economic participation.
The IMF’s April 2026 Regional Economic Outlook highlights a stagnation in sub-Saharan Africa’s labor productivity over nearly three decades, contrasting sharply with other regions.
Africa’s reliance on correspondent banking imposes a $5bn annual cost. Open payments architecture offers a structural alternative, promising faster settlement and reduced dependence on foreign intermediaries.
The latest reading marks the highest level since November and extends a reversal of the brief easing seen late last year. Recall that Nigeria’s food inflation dropped to single digits in January for the first time in over a decade.
The IMF’s April 2026 Regional Economic Outlook reveals a divided sub-Saharan Africa: agile reformers like Ethiopia and Uganda are thriving with strong growth, while traditional heavyweights such as South Africa and Angola struggle.
There’s a fact in Kenyan banking that often gets overlooked: most Kenyans repay their loans. Four out of five, in fact. The problem isn’t that Kenyans don’t pay. It’s that the share that doesn’t has been quietly rising
The IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., focus on the urgent challenges facing African nations amid rising debt and geopolitical tensions.
Moody’s has upgraded Ghana’s sovereign credit outlook to “positive” from “stable,” affirming its long-term rating at Caa1. This change reflects significant financial improvements after a recent economic crisis.
East Africa is set to anchor the continent’s economic expansion in 2026, outpacing every other region as investment flows and a fast-growing services sector accelerate momentum across the bloc.
Net income across microfinance institutions (MFIs) rose to $31 million (ETB 3.7 billion), a 22.6% increase from $25.1 million (ETB 3 billion) a year earlier, according to central data reviewed by Finance In Africa.
While business conditions deteriorated sharply in some of the continent’s largest economies in March, others managed to sustain momentum despite mounting external pressures.
In January 2026, Fitch Ratings downgraded the African Export-Import Bank to BB+ (Junk status). Not long after, it withdrew its ratings. Ordinarily, this episode might have looked like a routine credit event. Rating agencies reassess risk all the time.
According to data from the Finance Ministry, the East African nation posted a surplus of $147.26 million in January 2026, reversing a $206.43 million deficit in December 2025 and a $215.28 million shortfall a year earlier.
