Investment banking activities in sub-Saharan Africa achieved record performances over the first nine months of this year. However, the region remains a minor player on the global market.

From January to September this year, investment banking activities in SSA generated $387.5 million, data from Refinitiv revealed. This sum is 15% higher than that over the same period last year.  It is also the highest amount generated by the sector over 9 months since 2000.

All segments of the sector showed a certain dynamism. The value of announced mergers and acquisitions reached $78.3 billion over the period. This is a 40+ year high, and four times what was done in 2020. This volume was driven by the share swap between Naspers, the South African communications and entertainment services giant, and its Dutch-listed subsidiary Prosus. The transaction contributed $44.1 billion to the overall value.

Over the period reviewed, $4.2 billion worth of M&A deals were announced in Nigeria alone. The country is the leading destination for M&A deals targeting sub-Saharan Africa. The Middle East and Asia were also particularly dynamic, with Thailand and Singapore together announcing $4.2 billion in M&A deals in SSA. Another investment banking segment that also performed well in the first 9 months of 2021 was debt.

Fifty-seven transactions were announced in this segment between January and September 2021; 33% more than in the same period in 2020. In terms of value, nearly $38 billion was raised by governments and institutions such as the African Development Bank in Côte d'Ivoire and the Cocoa Board in Ghana.

Overall, the performance of investment banking in sub-Saharan Africa is significant but remains low when compared to the rest of the world. Over the period, investment banking worldwide generated $115.8 billion, meaning SSA only contributed 0.3%.