Nigeria has been ranked as the second-largest investment banking market in Sub-Saharan Africa.
This is according to the Sub-Saharan Africa Investment Banking Review Full Year 2025 published by LSEG Data & Analytics, which showed that while Nigeria saw its overall fee revenue rise, the year was defined by a stark divergence between a booming debt market and a cooling environment for mergers and equity deals.
The report read in part: “An estimated $503.9m worth of investment banking fees were generated in Sub-Saharan Africa during 2025, representing a 13.1 per cent increase from the prior year. South Africa accounted for 51.5 per cent of all Sub-Saharan African fees in 2025, followed by Nigeria (19.4 per cent) and the Ivory Coast (6.9 per cent).
“Investment banking fees in Nigeria reached $97.9m for the year, which marks an eight per cent increase compared to 2023. This growth contributed to Nigeria’s position as a top-three fee-earner alongside South Africa and Ivory Coast.”
While the total volume of equity issuance in Nigeria saw a pullback compared to the previous year, several landmark corporate deals stood out in the regional rankings.
The LSEG report revealed that Sub-Saharan African equity and equity-related issuance totalled $5.5 billion in 2025, which was a 58 per cent increase from 2024 and the highest level in eight years.
In Nigeria, equity issuance proceeds totalled $690.9 million, a figure that represents a 27 per cent decrease compared to the prior year. Despite this decline, Nigerian firms featured prominently in the largest regional deals, such as the $163.7 million follow-on offering by Presco Plc in December. Furthermore, United Bank for Africa Plc successfully executed two separate follow-on offerings in April and September 2025, raising a combined total of over $255 million.
