WAEMU sovereign borrowing shifts to longer-term bonds as issuance doubles

• Issuance more than doubles year-on-year
• Three-quarters raised via longer-term bonds

ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST — West African sovereigns began 2026 by reshaping their borrowing strategies, sharply increasing issuance and extending maturities across the regional debt market.

Governments in the eight-member West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) raised CFA1.9 trillion ($3.1bn) in January via the UMOA-Titres platform, more than double the amount mobilised in the same month last year.