For years, conversations about investing in much of Africa returned to the same frustrations: shallow capital markets, patchy liquidity, weak price discovery and regulatory uncertainty. The promise of rapid economic growth, the demographic dividend and abundant opportunity has not been matched by the market systems needed to support it. But in places something is shifting. The financial architecture that underpins investable markets is starting to take shape. It is not happening quickly, and evenly, but it’s enough to pay attention to.

The most notable progress is evident in debt markets. A cluster of reforming countries –Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt, Côte d’Ivoire and most recently, SA – have secured credit rating upgrades over the past year. These are hard-won rewards for policy action: fiscal consolidation, clearer monetary anchors, liability management, FX reforms and, in SA’s case, primary surpluses and reduced contingent liabilities as Eskom stabilises. These are early but important signs. Stronger sovereign balance sheets reduce borrowing costs, deepen local debt markets and create the yield curves corporates need to raise longer-term capital. Kenya’s return to the Eurobond market in 2024–25 is a significant shift in Africa’s recent economic narrative.

Equity markets are also showing tentative signs of progress. Ethiopia’s launch of its first securities exchange, the ESX, in 2025 has been criticised for the scarcity of early listings, raising doubts about whether it can avoid the fate of many African exchanges that are small and thinly traded. Ethiopia is interesting; its ESX is part of a wider reform effort that includes a new capital markets authority, a central securities depository and a capital markets tribunal. It was also set up as a public-private partnership with Ethiopia Investment Holdings as the founding shareholder with foreign strategic investors. Its goals are ambitious – it aims to shift a financial environment built on informal networks, limited transparency and low accountability to one with audited accounts, clear governance and consistent disclosure. Large Ethiopian firms are still mostly family-owned and opaque, so these habits will take time to shift.

Africa is also rewiring parts of its financial plumbing in ways that matter for investors and the millions of migrants who struggle to send money home. Cross-border payments, which have long depended on expensive correspondent banking links and dollar settlement, are slowly becoming easier. The Pan African Payment and Settlement System, launched in 2022 and now expanding across several regions, allows participating countries to settle transactions in local currencies. More than 150 banks have joined. In East and Southern Africa, the Comesa digital payments platform, introduced in 2023 and now rolling out more widely, supports regional trade by improving currency conversion and retail settlement. These initiatives are not glamorous, but they are essential. Without reliable settlement infrastructure, even the most promising exchanges remain isolated. With it, regional liquidity pools can form, particularly under the AfCFTA framework, which is beginning to harmonise digital trade rules and data standards. Progress is uneven, but the direction is clear. It represents a quiet shift, not unlike East Asia two decades ago.

Regulatory credibility is improving in parts. Several countries have tightened anti-money laundering standards to keep global banking lines open, which has stabilised the environment for banks and brokers. Others have shifted to more transparent FX regimes after years of stop-start controls. SA’s exit from the FATF grey list, moves by Egypt and Nigeria to liberalise exchange rates and Kenya’s work to bolster its monetary framework are examples of the same thing: countries trying to restore trust in the system. Regulatory progress will not transform markets overnight, but it reduces the uncertainty that deters long-term capital.

Is Africa becoming more investible? It depends on where you look. If you focus on equity listings, the picture looks thin. If you look at the system that supports capital markets, the progress is clearer; for example with debt markets. Where countries have repaired balance sheets and normalised policy, funding costs have fallen and market access has reopened. Payment infrastructure is improving and cross-border settlement is becoming more predictable.

For investors used to deep liquidity and stable rules, the picture still looks uneven, but the direction of reform matters. Sturdier fiscal anchors mean governments can fund themselves more predictably and at a lower real cost.

Clearer frameworks reduce the uncertainty that has kept foreign investors cautious. Better payment rails lower friction for banks, brokers and custodians. None of this is momentous, but together, they form the basis for deeper liquidity and better price discovery.

By Sasha Planting