In ten years, the UMOA Public Securities Market has changed significantly. The volumes mobilized through auctions have more than tripled, reaching over 21,600 billion CFA francs by the end of 2025 and could approach 24,800 billion CFA francs by December 31, 2026. In this exclusive interview with Financial Afrik, Oulimata Ndiaye, Director of UMOA-Titres, deciphers this transformation, the decrease in yields observed in 2026, the issue of banks’ exposure to sovereigns, the first Ivorian twenty-year issuance, and the reforms aimed at transitioning the regional market from primarily a primary market to a truly liquid and deep capital market.
The regional sovereign debt market is no longer just a cash register for the states of the West African Monetary Union. It has become, in a decade, one of the main financial infrastructures in the region. The figures provided by Oulimata Ndiaye illustrate this transformation. The issuances made through auctions have increased from around 3,330 billion CFA francs (5.69 billion dollars) in 2016 to 11,858.8 billion CFA francs (20.28 billion dollars) in 2025. The statistics published by UMOA-Titres confirm this latter amount as well as an outstanding debt issued through auctions of 21,629.34 billion CFA francs (36.99 billion dollars) at the end of December 2025.
UMOA-Titres’ director now estimates that this outstanding amount could reach around 24,800 billion CFA francs (42.41 billion dollars) by December 31, 2026, representing a growth of nearly 15% in one year, considering the issuance programs and their execution pace. This trajectory is particularly significant as it occurs during a period when access to international markets remains selective and costly for several African sovereigns.
In other words, the UMOA zone is gradually building its own capacity to absorb debt in local currency. This is probably the most important structural change of the decade. In 2016, explains Oulimata Ndiaye, the outstanding amount of public securities issued through auctions represented around 9% of the cumulative GDP of the member states. By the end of 2025, it was around 16%. The regional market is no longer marginal in debt strategies. It is becoming a pillar of budget financing, with implications for financial depth, sovereign risk management, banking liquidity, and monetary policy transmission.
