Africa’s stock markets gained 49 percent in 2025, but the rally exposed a deeper weakness in the continent’s capital markets as rising valuations are expanding the value of listed companies without bringing enough new businesses into the market to raise public equity.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), African stock market capitalisation reached $836 billion at the end of 2025, outperforming emerging markets, which grew by 20 percent, and global markets, which advanced 21 percent. Nigeria recorded a 77 percent increase in market capitalisation to $59 billion, while Ghana led the continent with 153 percent growth, followed by Zambia at 111 percent.
Yet the surge in valuations was not matched by an expansion in the number of listed companies. Africa recorded only seven new listings in 2025, in Egypt, Ghana, Morocco and South Africa. These accounted for just three percent of the increase in regional market capitalisation, according to the OECD.
This is quite important because rising share prices increase the market value of companies already listed, but do not automatically provide them with new equity financing. Without more businesses entering the market, the stock market’s ability to channel savings into corporate expansion, investment and job creation remains constrained.
The weakness extends beyond the number of listings to the structure of ownership. South Africa accounted for nearly 60 percent of Africa’s $836 billion market capitalisation, while South Africa, Morocco, Egypt and Nigeria together represented 88 percent. This leaves much of the continent’s equity market concentrated in four countries.
Ownership is similarly concentrated. Institutional investors held only 21 percent of listed equity in Africa, compared with 47 percent globally. Corporations accounted for 23 percent, while public-sector ownership represented 19 percent.
The OECD warns that this concentration reduces the shares available for public trading, limiting free float, trading activity and investor diversity. It can also constrain the ability of markets to finance a broader range of companies.
The scale of the financing challenge becomes clearer when market capitalisation is measured against economic output. Africa’s stock market capitalisation was equivalent to 43 percent of GDP at the end of 2025, compared with 68 percent in emerging markets and 128 percent globally.
For Nigeria, the implication is that a rising market index and expanding valuations do not, on their own, demonstrate that the capital market is becoming a deeper source of corporate financing. The more important test is whether more companies can list, attract a wider investor base and use the market to fund long-term growth.
The OECD says reducing the financial and regulatory barriers to listing, strengthening corporate governance and investor protection, and improving trading infrastructure and liquidity will be critical to expanding access to public equity.