African Economies

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has the potential to grow beyond just reducing tariffs. Its success depends on the movement of people, not just goods. Africa needs to develop a shared continental identity, which can ultimately lead to a more integrated free trade area. The African Union recognized this when it created the 2018 Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons, which has experienced slower rates of adoption and ratification (Hirsch, 2021). The free movement of individuals is considered crucial for achieving the objectives of the AfCFTA and promoting regional integration. Lessons from other regional integration models, such as the European Union, may provide valuable insights into overcoming challenges and advancing the free movement agenda. These examples highlight that trust, cultural exchanges, and familiarity are crucial to a better integrated African free trade Area.

This quarterly report argues that Africa’s ongoing debt crisis is deeply intertwined with the legacies of colonialism, the political pressures of post-independence governance, and the global financial system’s exploitative practices. Recently liberated African states in the 1970s and 1980s faced the dual challenge of fulfilling liberation promises, such as expanding education, healthcare, and infrastructure, while relying on favorable commodity prices to sustain economic growth. This combination of political urgency and economic optimism led to extensive borrowing, often underpinned by forced loans and unrealistic economic forecasting.

On November 6 2025, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that it had concluded its mission to Senegal which occurred from October 22 to November 6, 2025. These discussions were geared at advancing discussions initiated during the 2025 Annual Meetings on a new IMF-supported programme and to review progress on corrective measures related to Senegal’s hidden debt. The “hidden debt” in question refers to a debt underreporting incident uncovered in late 2024 from the country’s previous administration. From all indications, this scandal continues to haunt Senegal, which has recently concluded the most recent IMF mission, notably without any new lending agreements. Following this, Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko reportedly shunned any proposal to restructure the country’s public debt. He said the measure, supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), would be a “disgrace” for the country. This Update will consider Senegal’s current debt landscape and examine its current stance towards arresting its debt challenges.

According to the Nigerian Debt Management Office, Nigeria raised $2.25 billion in a bond sale on Wednesday, 5 November 2025. The sale reflected what Reuters referred to as a ‘sharp improvement in global borrowing conditions’ which has lured so-called highly indebted sovereigns back to international capital markets. Notably, Congo Republic, Angola and Kenya have also sold their high-yield debt to eager investors. Others such as Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire, which in a bid to assume a more conservative stance have resorted to the regional markets instead, such as the West African Monetary Union (WAMU). Nigeria's dual-tranche listing for ten-year and twenty-year bonds was oversubscribed by as much as 12 times. The long 10-year (maturing 2036) and long 20-year (maturing 2046) notes were priced at 8.625% and 9.125% respectively.

L'intégration économique régionale entendue comme « un processus qui conduit plusieurs économies distinctes à former un seul espace économique » (Beitone, Cazorla, Dollo, Drai, Dictionnaire de science économique, p. 290) régional représente un enjeu majeur pour le développement des États. Cette intégration économique est organisée en degrés correspondants aux différentes formes d’intégration. L’un de ses premiers degrés d’intégration est appelé la zone de libre-échange (Elsa Tapsoba, Intégration économique et normes internationales du travail en Afrique de l’Ouest (UEMOA) p.18). Celle-ci correspond à la zone dans laquelle est assurée l’abolition des droits de douane et des barrières non tarifaires entre les pays membres d’une communauté avec toutefois une indépendance des politiques tarifaires extérieures. Il existe plusieurs zones de libre-échange à travers le monde telles que L’Accord de Libre Échange Nord-Américain, le MERCOSUR,Partenariat Économique Régional Global (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement en anglais) et la liste n’est pas exhaustive.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) represents the most ambitious attempt to unify the continent’s markets under a single framework, with the potential not only to expand intra-African trade but also to reposition Africa within the global economy. Can the AfCFTA break Africa’s cycle of dependency and reposition the continent in the global economy? In this paper, we aim to offer an analysis of the impact of persistent colonial institutional practices on development in Africa, and the role of an African Continental Free Trade Area in articulating agency, creating shockproof economies, establishing continental trade corridors, building regional value chains, and finally asserting Africa’s position in the global economy.

Following its 2020 default on its US$42.5 million Eurobond payment, Zambia became the first African country to experience a sovereign default during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, it has been engaged in a protracted effort to restructure its debt, notably under the G20 Common Framework. This Update explores the divergent positions in this dispute and situates the debate within the broader context of the evolving role of regional multilateral development banks in sovereign debt restructuring. It will also examine Zambia’s strategy of third-party subrogation of Afreximbank’s debt and assess whether it offers a viable path forward in resolving its debt crisis and furthering the relevance of African Multilateral Development Banks in the long-term.

The African Sovereign Debt Justice Network, (AfSDJN), is a coalition of citizens, scholars, civil society actors and church groups committed to exposing the adverse impact of unsustainable levels of African sovereign debt on the lives of ordinary citizens. Convened by Afronomicslaw.org with the support of Open Society for Southern Africa, (OSISA), the AfSDJN's activities are tailored around addressing the threats that sovereign debt poses for economic development, social cohesion and human rights in Africa. It advocates for debt cancellation, rescheduling and restructuring as well as increasing the accountability and responsibility of lenders and African governments about how sovereign debt is procured, spent and repaid. Focusing in particular on Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria and Senegal, the AfSDJN will also amplify African voices and decolonize narratives on African sovereign debt . Its activities include producing research outputs to enhance the network’s advocacy interventions. It also seeks to create awareness on and elevate the priority given to sovereign debt and other economic justice issues on the African continent and beyond throughout 2021.

The African Sovereign Debt Justice Network, (AfSDJN), is a coalition of citizens, scholars, civil society actors and church groups committed to exposing the adverse impact of unsustainable levels of African sovereign debt on the lives of ordinary citizens. Convened by Afronomicslaw.org with the support of Open Society for Southern Africa, (OSISA), the AfSDJN's activities are tailored around addressing the threats that sovereign debt poses for economic development, social cohesion and human rights in Africa. It advocates for debt cancellation, rescheduling and restructuring as well as increasing the accountability and responsibility of lenders and African governments about how sovereign debt is procured, spent and repaid. Focusing in particular on Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria and Senegal, the AfSDJN will also amplify African voices and decolonize narratives on African sovereign debt . Its activities include producing research outputs to enhance the network’s advocacy interventions. It also seeks to create awareness on and elevate the priority given to sovereign debt and other economic justice issues on the African continent and beyond throughout 2021.

The African Sovereign Debt Justice Network, (AfSDJN), is a coalition of citizens, scholars, civil society actors and church groups committed to exposing the adverse impact of unsustainable levels of African sovereign debt on the lives of ordinary citizens. Convened by Afronomicslaw.org with the support of Open Society for Southern Africa, (OSISA), the AfSDJN's activities are tailored around addressing the threats that sovereign debt poses for economic development, social cohesion and human rights in Africa. It advocates for debt cancellation, rescheduling and restructuring as well as increasing the accountability and responsibility of lenders and African governments about how sovereign debt is procured, spent and repaid. Focusing in particular on Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria and Senegal, the AfSDJN will also amplify African voices and decolonize narratives on African sovereign debt . Its activities include producing research outputs to enhance the network’s advocacy interventions. It also seeks to create awareness on and elevate the priority given to sovereign debt and other economic justice issues on the African continent and beyond throughout 2021.