A recent report by Crisil Coalition Greenwich projects that Africa’s global markets financing revenues will reach $1.4bn by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 9%—a reflection of the region’s accelerating shift from traditional Eurobond issuance to more sophisticated instruments like Total Return Swaps (TRS), syndicated loans, and structured derivatives. 

Africa Global Funds’ Anna Lyudvig spoke with  Bhavya Ahuja, Vice president and product specialist for Middle East & Africa at Crisil Coalition Greenwich to discuss the report findings (p.16-17).

In this month’s issue, Adam Bateman and Johan De Bruyn of  Standard Bank CIB, discuss the role of custodian banks in investment administration. As pension funds grow more complex, custodian banks are playing an increasingly vital role in investment administration by providing a central, independently constructed “golden record” of financial data.  Read on p 15.

In this issue, we explore how Gulf state actors—led by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey—are significantly expanding their influence in East Africa through major investments in infrastructure, ports, energy, and security. Driven by economic ambitions and regional rivalries, these actors have poured an estimated $75bn into the region, reshaping local economies and political dynamics. Read on pp.18-19

In addition, Africa’s path to ending energy poverty must reflect its unique realities, where nearly 600 million people still lack electricity. Rather than prematurely phasing out fossil fuels, the continent should harness oil and gas revenues to finance its energy transition, writes NJ Ayuk of the African Energy Chamber. Read on p.24.