Mali plans to raise approximately $2.6bn on the WAEMU financial market this year through Treasury bills and bonds, deepening its shift toward regional debt financing.
The programme, outlined by the Directorate General of the Treasury and Public Accounting (DGTPA), marks a new phase in Mali’s budget strategy, signalling growing reliance on domestic and regional resources rather than external borrowing.
The treasury intends to issue 27 public securities progressively over the year: $616mn in the first quarter, $724mn in the second, $779mn in the third and $507mn in the fourth.
Mali moved early. It raised $80mn on 7 January, followed by another $100mn on 21 January, according to UMOA-Titres data — an early signal of investor appetite.
The 2026 financing programme includes $871mn in Treasury bills for short-term cash management and $1.76bn in fungible Treasury bonds aimed at medium- and long-term financing. Operations will primarily be conducted through auctions, with recourse to public offerings as market conditions warrant. Yields will reflect liquidity levels, maturity profiles, and investor demand at issuance, according to the DGTPA.
A maturing regional finance culture
The strategy builds on strong momentum from 2025, when Mali raised $2.2bn through 34 issuances on the regional market. The performance underscored both the depth of the WAEMU debt market and the state’s capacity to mobilise substantial funding without excessive reliance on Eurobonds or other external debt instruments.
“What we see here is a progressive target for each new fiscal year. This year’s target will be higher than last year’s, which was higher than the year before.
It’s an indication of our maturing financing strategies, which is gradually condensing into a finance culture,” said Ismael Niakaté, researcher and head of project at the faculty of legal and economic sciences of the University of Bamako.
He noted a structural shift in investor perception.
“Back in the day, local investors didn’t even know or understand public securities. They thought they were meant for the White man. Eurobonds were what every government aimed for, but the WAEMU regional financial market has corrected that short-sightedness for good.
“Local Malian businessmen are now attentive to the announcement of the issuance of fresh government bonds. They swoon over them and most times oversubscribe.
Locals have now realised that they could make money from government bonds at the same time providing funds for public projects,” Niakaté told Allen Dreyfus.
Mali’s leading national banks — including the Development Bank of Mali (BDM-SA), the Malian Solidarity Bank (BMS-SA), and the National Agricultural Development Bank (BNDA) — remain among the most active corporate investors in government securities.
The broader macroeconomic backdrop has supported the treasury’s strategy. At the end of 2025, Mali’s public debt stood at 42.3% of GDP, a level considered sustainable under regional convergence criteria. Economic growth reached 6.1% in 2025, while inflation remained around 2.8%.
Official forecasts project growth of 6.3% in 2026 and 6.5% by 2028. The budget deficit is expected to narrow, with the balance forecast at 2.4% in 2026 and 2.9% by 2028.
For policymakers in Bamako, the shift toward WAEMU financing is not merely tactical but structural — embedding the country more firmly within the regional financial architecture.
“Mali’s increasing involvement in the regional debt market is a trajectory I think will not be easily derailed for now,” Niakaté added.
As global borrowing conditions remain volatile and access to international capital markets tightens for many frontier economies, Mali’s expanding footprint in the WAEMU debt market highlights a broader West African trend: regional markets are no longer supplementary — they are becoming central to sovereign financing strategies.
