High borrowing costs and limited access to flexible financing structures are threatening mergers and acquisitions across Africa, including Nigeria, despite strong corporate appetite for expansion, Standard Chartered has warned.
The bank disclosed this in a statement, quoting its Africa Chief Executive Officer and Head of Coverage, Dalu Ajene, who called for a rethink of acquisition financing to unlock the continent’s next phase of corporate growth.
Ajene spoke at a strategic roundtable on “Scaling Acquisition Finance to Steady the M&A Downturn” at a pan-African forum in Kigali, Rwanda, where he warned that Africa risks missing a critical phase of industrial expansion unless financial institutions develop more flexible and scalable funding solutions.
According to the statement, the slowdown in mergers and acquisitions across the continent reflects a financing gap rather than a shortage of business ambition.
Citing findings from a discussion paper presented at the forum, Ajene noted that Africa’s M&A activity
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