Yemisi Izuora
Nigeria Capital Market performed better in the first quarter of 2026, recording over 30 per cent all in dollar terms.
In a report published by Africa.com detailing Africa stock market performance at the end of the first quarter of the year, Telecommunications giant Airtel Africa spearheaded a strong rebound on the Nigerian stock market, rallying by 10 per cent to lead gains on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and lifting investor confidence after heavy selloffs.
The Nigerian bourse is going to be further boosted by the Dangote refinery’s intended IPO later this year.
The much-awaited listing on the NGX is expected to positon the refinery to unlock significant domestic and foreign investor interest while reshaping the dept and valuation dynamics of the NGX.
President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, disclosed that the shares of Dangote Refinary would be listed on the NGX within the next four to five months. Analysts predict that it is also going to strengthen the Naira further.
On a related note, Nigeria’s Zenith Bank is eyeing a London listing in global growth strategy. Lithium Africa Corp. “Lithium Africa” announced that it has begun trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (“FSE”) under the symbol “6MQ”.
The report shows that the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) is officially Africa’s best-performing securities market.
The GSE rally topped 43 per cent as Tanzania, Nigeria and Zimbabwe gained more than 30 per cent all in dollar terms.
The value of the dollar is weakening while African currencies are stabilising or rallying, a considerable turnaround following years of FX losses, boosting returns for local and foreign investors.
According to Bloomberg, Nigeria’s Naira is the world’s second best performing currency this year, having gained over 7 per cent against the dollar this quarter. Yields on fixed-income investments, especially bonds are falling as central banks lower interest rates, prompted in part by falling inflation, bolstering investor confidence in the security markets.
Ghana’s world-leading 20 per cent stock index gain, tops 92 indexes tracked by Bloomberg. Only 11 other indexes have made gains in the month of March, with South Africa’s FTSE/JSE All Share Index, which lost 20 per cent, being the weakest performer in dollar terms.
Ghana’s stock market experienced a significant rally in 2026, outperforming global trends at the end of the first quarter.
Ghana’s fixed income market posted a sharp surge in activity in February 2026, with total trading volume climbing 88.29 percent compared to the same month last year, according to the official monthly report released by the GSE.
The Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM) recorded a total trading volume of GH₵41.64 billion in February 2026, up from GH₵22.11 billion in February 2025. The value of securities traded over the same period rose 113.88 percent to GH₵38.26 billion from GH₵17.89 billion a year earlier. For the first two months of 2026 combined, cumulative volume reached GH₵78.55 billion, more than double the GH₵39.01 billion traded in the same period of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 101.36 percent.
Analysts tout Ghana’s revamped fiscal policies, which has helped reduce inflation, with interest-rate cuts enhancing the country’s economic outlook. The improved fundamentals have solidified Ghana’s brand as a frontier market with an enabling business environment even though underlying liquidity risks remain.
Ghana’s stock market experienced the highest growth at 19.9% since the Iran war began.
The Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) is generating significant momentum because of the recent listing of the Kenya Pipeline Company. The Company’s IPO closed oversubscribed, with the results showing that Kenyan institutional investors, rumored to be mostly the National Social Security Fund, and East African buyers absorbed most of the KSh106.3Bn share sale.
It is anticipated that the East African bourse activities would be further heightened by the recent Safaricom MPESA Ziidi trading app launch, especially since MPESA just crossed 40 million active users. Trading at the NSE entered a new phase after the rollout of Safaricom’s Ziidi Trader pushing daily equity deals above 20,000 for three consecutive sessions, breaking long-standing records.
According to Bloomberg, the JSE has seen dwindling in its listings over the period of 2017 to 2024 but listing picked up in 2025 and would hopefully continue in 2026. Dipula Properties is set to enter a new phase of growth and visibility following its inclusion in key FTSE/JSE property indices, a development that underscores its rising profile within South Africa’s listed real estate sector.
The JSE has also listed the Ivy EasyETFs AI Innovation Actively Managed Exchange Traded Fund (AMETF), offering investors exposure to global artificial intelligence opportunities through a single locally traded instrument.
The fund, trading under the code IVYAI, provides access to companies developing and applying AI technologies across sectors.
Meanwhile, Optasia, which went public as Africa’s local Fintech IPO last year on the JSE, acquired Finergi for $29.2M in an energy-credit convergence play