Access to Capital: What East African Corporates Need to Know in 2026

Corporates raising capital in East Africa this year are working in a materially different environment than two years ago, and financing strategies built on old assumptions are getting repriced. Local Currency Debt Has Repriced Shilling-denominated facilities carry a different risk premium than they did through 2023 and 2024. Borrowers who last raised debt before rates moved are often surprised by where local currency pricing now sits relative to hard currency alternatives. DFI Appetite Has Not Disappeared, It Has Concentrated Development finance institutions remain active in the region, but they are underwriting more selectively - favoring transactions with clear development impact, strong governance, and sectors aligned to their current mandates. Generic corporate lending has become harder to place with DFIs than sector-specific facilities. Working Capital Is Where the Real Pressure Sits For most of our clients, the binding constraint is not growth capital but working capital - the cash tied up in receivables and inventory as businesses scale. Structuring this correctly, rather than treating it as an afterthought to a larger financing conversation, is often what determines whether a facility is actually bankable. Bankability Is Built, Not Assumed The corporates that raise capital efficiently are the ones that treat the preparation - clean financials, a credible business plan, a realistic use-of-funds case - as work to be done well before the first lender conversation, not paperwork to assemble once a term sheet is on the table. Our Financial Advisory team works with clients through this preparation directly, and we typically see it shorten time-to-close by a meaningful margin.