Private-sector credit across Africa is still expanding in mid-2026, but the path is uneven. Ghana and Tanzania are running the fastest. Nigeria has climbed for three months after an early-year drop. Kenya and Uganda are in double digits. South Africa and Egypt are slower. Banks are tighter on long-dated industrial risk. Firms that can issue paper or tap trade lines are doing so.
The Figures below are local-currency stocks and official growth rates complied by ThinkBusiness Africa from central-bank releases through July and August 2026.
Ghana and Tanzania
Bank of Ghana data put outstanding private-sector credit at GH¢119.6 billion at end-June, up 41.2 percent year on year. The average lending rate had fallen to 15.64% from 27.0% a year earlier, after inflation eased and IMF programme reviews were completed. Real credit rose as well.
Tanzania’s stock reached TZS 53.77 trillion in July, from TZS 51.92 trillion in June. Annual growth accelerated to 31.2% from 28.1%, led by harvest finance, trade, mining and construction. Personal loans, mostly to MSMEs, still account for about a third of bank books.
The Bank of Tanzania raised its policy rate to 6.25% in July even as credit sped up. Households and small firms are adding debt just as policy begins to tighten. Asset quality has not broken in the official numbers, but the test comes after the harvest books reprice.
East Africa
Uganda’s annual private-sector credit growth reached 16.1% in June. The outstanding stock was Shs 27.7 trillion, up 3.8% from May and 16.0% from a year earlier. Net extensions over the three months to June were Shs 2.89 trillion, nearly double the previous quarter. That is a flow, not the stock. Average shilling lending rates eased to 17.73% from 18.65%.
Kenya’s private-sector credit grew 10.2% in July, after 10.6% in June, the first stretch of double-digit growth since early 2024. The Central Bank Rate is 8.75%. Average commercial lending rates were 14.3% in July. Trade, construction, agriculture and consumer durables took most of the new loans.
Rwanda’s private-sector credit stock was about RWF 5.91 trillion in June. Lending standards have tightened as the National Bank of Rwanda has adjusted policy. Growth is still positive; approval is more selective.
Nigeria
Central Bank of Nigeria figures show credit to the private sector at N84.55 trillion in August, from N83.43 trillion in July and N83.26 trillion in June, three consecutive monthly increases after an April low of about N80.6 trillion.
In August the CBN eased Discount Window restrictions tied to FX and government-securities activity and restored tenored repo operations of four to 90 days. Services and trade still take the largest share of bank credit. Manufacturing and oil and gas remain large tickets, but screening is tighter during recapitalisation.
South Africa and Egypt
South African private-sector credit grew 7.41% year on year in July, from 7.77% in June, the softest pace since late 2025. Claims on the private sector were about R2.63 trillion in June. Household leverage and a cautious Reserve Bank have kept banks conservative.
Egypt’s loans to the private sector were about EGP 3.66 trillion in June. Real local-currency loan growth averaged 7.3% in the second quarter. Sovereign issuance still occupies a large share of bank balance sheets. Corporate borrowers face tight conditions even as headline inflation has eased.
Snapshot
| Country | Credit stock | Period | Rate used | USD equivalent |
| Ghana | GH¢119.6bn | June 2026 | GH¢11.35/$ (BoG interbank, end-June) | $10.5bn |
| Tanzania | TZS 53.77trn | July 2026 | TZS 2,633/$ (July average) | $20.4bn |
| Uganda | Shs 27.7trn | June 2026 | UGX 3,659/$ (end-June) | $7.6bn |
| Kenya | KSh 4.29trn | June 2026* | KSh 129.5/$ (end-June) | $33.1bn |
| Nigeria | ₦84.55trn | August 2026 | ₦1,332/$ (end-August) | $63.5bn |
| Rwanda | RWF 5.91trn | June 2026 | RWF 1,461/$ (end-June) | $4.0bn |
| South Africa | R2.63trn | June 2026 | R16.4/$ (June average) | $160bn |
| Egypt | EGP 3.66trn | June 2026 | EGP 50.7/$ (June average) | $72bn |
Dollar figures convert each local-currency stock at the official or interbank rate for that reporting month. They are period-matched, not current-market values. Definitions of private-sector credit still differ by country.
How Businesses are Funding Themselves
In high-rate markets — Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa — larger companies are issuing commercial paper and other short-dated corporate debt rather than rolling expensive overdrafts. Banks under recapitalisation and tighter risk models prefer trade, services and consumer names with faster cash conversion.
Manufacturing, oil and gas, real estate and infrastructure still get large facilities; the process is slower and more collateral-heavy.
Where inflation has broken and lending rates have fallen, as in Ghana and Uganda, credit has responded quickly. Demand is not the constraint. The price and term of money are.
— Compiled from central-bank monetary statistics and official monthly reviews released through mid-September 2026.
