Nigeria remained one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest investment banking markets in 2025, accounting for 19.4 percent of total regional fees, even as corporate dealmaking across the continent fell to its lowest level in two decades.
Data from LSEG’s Sub-Saharan Africa Investment Banking Review: Full Year 2025 show that regional investment banking fees rose 13.1 percent to US$503.9 million last year. The increase, however, was driven largely by debt issuance rather than mergers and acquisitions.
“The number of deals announced in the region fell 13.4% to the lowest level since 2005,” the report stated. Although total announced M&A value edged up 0.8 percent to US$37.2 billion, overall transaction activity weakened markedly.
