{
  "id": 6279818,
  "title": "Moody's sees ongoing surge in Africa's private credit market",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/moodys-sees-ongoing-surge-in-africas-private-credit-market",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-08T12:28:48.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/business/corporate/2026/09/1528511/moodys-sees-ongoing-surge-africas-private-credit-market"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "LONDON — Africa's private credit sector faces continued growth as firms and infrastructure projects look for options beyond constrained bank lending, according to Moody's report released on Tuesday. The continent's private credit industry remains modest, but has expanded swiftly over the past few years, with assets under management reaching US$5.6 billion by the end of 2025, up from US$1.8 billion in 2020, as stated in the report. Moody's attributed the demand surge to Africa's ongoing financing deficit, underdeveloped capital markets, and limitations on banks' capacity and willingness to offer long-term financing, especially for infrastructure projects, medium-sized enterprises, and small businesses. The agency noted that despite this rapid expansion, Africa represents only 0.3 percent of the worldwide private credit market, which is valued at a minimum of US$1.8 trillion. Moody's emphasized that development finance institutions would continue to play a crucial role in funding the sector in Africa and could aid in mobilizing international capital via credit-enhanced and blended-finance arrangements. These structures could bolster highly-rated senior loan portions and enhance the attractiveness of African private credit to institutional investors such as pension funds and insurers. However, private credit is not expected to challenge African banks substantially, as funds frequently lend through banks or co-finance transactions, particularly in infrastructure, where financing demands remain significant. The ratings firm highlighted that achieving substantial scale would necessitate the industry to exhibit returns that compete with alternative opportunities, particularly due to investor apprehensions about frontier-market risks and the inconsistent historical performance of Africa-focused private investment funds. The report also pointed out that stock market capitalization across the continent amounted to approximately 33 percent of GDP in 2024, considerably lower than the respective emerging market and global averages of 61 percent and 113 percent, respectively.",
  "summary": "LONDON: Africa's private credit market is set for further expansion as companies and infrastructure projects seek alternatives to constrained bank lending, credit ratings firm Moody's said in a report on Tuesday.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}