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LeadAfrik
Advanced · Self-paced2026 Edition

Sovereign Debt & Capital Markets

Why governments borrow, when debt becomes unsustainable, and what happens when it goes wrong. Debt dynamics, the instruments, Eurobond market access, concessional finance, default, and the restructuring machinery — through the recent African debt cases.

8

Modules

~6h 40m

Reading time

Advanced

Level

Self-paced

Format

§

Syllabus

  1. 01

    Why governments borrow

    Deficits, tax-smoothing, and the intertemporal budget constraint — the legitimate case for debt before the trouble starts.

    ~45 minModule 01
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  2. 02

    The debt-sustainability arithmetic

    The r-minus-g identity, the primary balance, the debt-sustainability analysis, and why threshold ratios are more fragile than they look.

    ~55 minModule 02
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  3. 03

    The instruments

    T-bills, T-bonds, and the yield curve; domestic vs external debt; and the 'original sin' of borrowing in someone else's currency.

    ~50 minModule 03
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  4. 04

    Eurobonds and market access

    Issuance and spreads, the sudden-stop risk, and the African Eurobond wave of 2014-2024 and its refinancing wall.

    ~50 minModule 04
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  5. 05

    Concessional and official finance

    IMF facilities, World Bank/IDA, bilateral lending and the China question, and blended finance — cheaper money with strings.

    ~50 minModule 05
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  6. 06

    When debt goes wrong

    Default and its costs, the holdout problem, and collective-action clauses designed to keep one creditor from blocking a deal.

    ~50 minModule 06
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  7. 07

    Restructuring mechanics

    The Paris Club, the G20 Common Framework, NPV haircuts, and the recent cases — Zambia, Ghana, Chad, Ethiopia.

    ~55 minModule 07
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  8. 08

    Debt management as a function

    The debt-management office, the medium-term debt strategy, contingent liabilities, and the transparency the market now demands.

    ~45 minModule 08
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How to use this course

Start with module 01 if the material is new; skip ahead if you have prior exposure. Each module is self-contained but the arc is sequential — the projects in the final module assume the toolkit from modules 1-11. Every module ends with key takeaways and a curated further-reading list with primary sources.