Global investors remain willing to bet on Africa despite persistent geopolitical tensions, elevated interest rates, and a volatile global economy, with the African Export-Import Bank’s (Afreximbank) largest-ever Eurobond attracting nearly twice as much demand as the amount offered.

Last week, the Cairo-based multilateral lender raised $1.5 billion through a dual-tranche senior unsecured Reg S/144A Eurobond, marking its first return to the US dollar public debt market since 2021. Orders peaked at $3.8 billion, making the issuance roughly two times oversubscribed, as investors from the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia and the United States competed for the offering.

For many market participants, the transaction is about far more than another successful bond sale. It is a strong signal that international investors remain willing to finance African institutions with credible balance sheets and clear development mandates, even as global markets grapple with economic uncertainty and geopolitical risks.

“The issuance was about 2x oversubscribed, with an order book peaking at $3.8 billion,” investment research platform InfraMetrics said in a recent note. “Demand came from investors across the UK, Europe, Asia and the US, showing broad global appetite.”

The deal was split equally between a $750 million 5.5-year note maturing in January 2032 and a $750 million 10-year note due in July 2036. Strong investor demand allowed Afreximbank to tighten pricing by 37.5 basis points on both tranches, resulting in final yields of 6.25 percent for the shorter-dated notes and 7.125 percent for the longer tenor.

The successful issuance comes at a time when emerging and frontier market borrowers continue to face high borrowing costs amid lingering inflation concerns, geopolitical tensions and uncertainty over the direction of global monetary policy.

Against that backdrop, Afreximbank’s ability to attract investors from multiple regions signals that appetite for African credit remains intact, particularly for institutions viewed as financially resilient and strategically important.

“This successful issuance shows the confidence that investors continue to place in Afreximbank and in Africa’s growth story,” said Chandi Mwenebungu, the bank’s managing director of treasury and markets and group treasurer. “Our role remains to connect capital to the opportunities that will drive trade, industrialisation and growth across the continent.”

Beyond the size of the fundraising, analysts say the deal reinforces the growing role of African multilateral financial institutions in connecting global capital with the continent’s development agenda.

“Pricing was tightened significantly, reflecting confidence not just in Afreximbank, but in the underlying Africa growth narrative,” InfraMetrics said.

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It added that the transaction demonstrates “what development finance looks like in practice: accessing global capital at scale and efficiently channelling it into trade, industrialisation and economic expansion across the continent.”

The largest development bank on the continent have increasingly diversified their funding sources in recent years. Before returning to the dollar bond market, the lender tapped Japan’s Samurai bond market in 2024 and 2025 and issued a Panda bond in China last year, broadening its access to international investors while reducing dependence on a single funding market.

The latest Eurobond attracted a syndicate of leading global financial institutions. HSBC served as global coordinator, while Standard Bank Group, Standard Chartered, Commerzbank AG and MUFG Securities EMEA acted among the joint lead managers and bookrunners.

The success of the transaction could also have wider implications for African sovereigns, development finance institutions and corporates seeking to access international debt markets.

While investors remain cautious about weaker credits, Afreximbank’s oversubscribed issuance demonstrates that global capital is still available for African borrowers with strong fundamentals, transparent governance and credible growth strategies.

Bunmi holds a degree in Economics from the University of Lagos and has over eight years of experience in content writing and journalism. Her career spans roles as a financial and business journalist at BusinessDay Media and TechCabal, and as Head of Research at SBM Intelligence, an Africa-focused market intelligence and strategic consulting firm. She also served as Editor at Finance in Africa, a subsidiary of Businessfront and is currently Assistant Editor, Finance (Africa), at BusinessDay.