In her latest commentary for Project Syndicate, Vera Songwe, Advisory Board Member of the Africa Capital Hub, an initiative of BwB, examines how movements in US Treasuries affect sovereign borrowing costs in Africa.
The figures are striking – one month of war in Iran is estimated to have increased Africa's annual debt burden by nearly US$4.4 billion.
With US$149 billion in African Eurobonds outstanding, sovereign balance sheets remain highly sensitive to global financing conditions. The pressure, Vera argues, is not caused by new borrowing, but by the impact of rising US Treasury benchmarks and widening risk premiums on existing obligations.
Even countries such as Kenya, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, and Cameroon, which entered 2026 with a recent record of strong liability management, have seen yields rise by 45 to 75 basis points compared to a month ago.
The path forward, in her view, requires three structural shifts: broadening sovereign issuance into alternative markets, deepening regional capital markets, and expanding local-currency financing, supported by multilateral institutions.
As Vera puts it, the goal is not to abandon international markets but to diversify them and to build more international, regional, and national resilience before the next global crisis arrives.
Read the full commentary: https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/americas-iran-war-adding-to-africas-debt-burden-by-vera-songwe-2026-04