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Legal market intelligence Sub-Saharan Africa
Africa's legal market, on the record.
Meridian documents the transactions, appointments, rankings and market developments that define legal practice across sub-Saharan Africa. Each record states its source.
- Transactions on record
- 915
- Law firms named
- 163
- Sectors
- 23
Transactions Tracker
Latest transactions
€335
IsDB approves EUR 335 million for Tunisian road corridors
Republic of Tunisia
Counsel not publicly identified
ÂŁ1
Premier African Minerals raises GBP 1.2 million to restart Zimbabwe lithium project
Premier African Minerals
Counsel not publicly identified
Value undisclosed
Azura Power acquires majority stake in South African electricity trader Enpower
Azura Power
Counsel not publicly identified
KSh1.5k
Quickmart opens Sh15 billion NSE offer for half of supermarket chain
Sokoni Retail Kenya Limited shareholders (including Adenia)
Counsel not publicly identified
KSh9
Ndegwa family’s First Chartered to buy back 24.1 per cent of ICEA Lion
First Chartered Securities (Ndegwa family)
Counsel not publicly identified
US$88
Chevron commits at least US$88 million to Egypt’s Lotus Mediterranean block
Chevron
Counsel not publicly identified
Featured transactions
Selected for scale and reach
Chosen by Meridian editors on disclosed value, recency and cross-border significance.
US$2bn
Project BRIDGE: Nigeria’s US$2bn fibre optic PPP with the World Bank, AfDB and EBRD
Federal Government of Nigeria (Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy) and the World Bank
Advised by Duale Ovia & Alex-Adedipe
Value undisclosed
Petroci signs FSRU agreements with EXMAR and CI-Energies for LNG imports at the Port of Abidjan
EXMAR will lease a 152,000 mÂł FSRU to Petroci for ten years; imported LNG, from the third quarter of 2027, will be regasified for CI-Energies' power generation.
Société Nationale d'Opérations Pétrolières de la Côte d'Ivoire (Petroci) / EXMAR (FSRU provider) and Côte d'Ivoire Energies (gas offtaker)
Advised by White & Case
US$100m
The Gambia signs US$100m trade finance facility with BADEA
Second BADEA facility for the country will fund imports of strategic commodities and food security items.
Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) and Government of The Gambia / Government of The Gambia
Advised by Ashurst Perkins Coie
US$750m
Dangote Petroleum Refinery issues US$750m 7.5% senior notes due 2031
Maiden international bond, placed privately, with Clifford Chance as counsel to the issuer.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE / International investors (private placement)
Advised by Clifford Chance
₦2.15trn US$1.63bn
Dangote Petroleum Refinery opens ₦2.15trn IPO on the Nigerian Exchange
Offer of up to 4.1bn shares at ₦525 each runs from 14 September to 13 October 2026.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE / NGX public offer
Advised by Banwo & Ighodalo, Olaniwun Ajayi LP, ÆLEX
US$1.8bn
AFC and RMB coordinate US$1.8bn financing for the Kano-Maradi railway
Lender group to fund a 374km standard gauge line linking northern Nigeria with Niger.
Africa Finance Corporation and Rand Merchant Bank / Federal Republic of Nigeria (borrower)
Advised by Clifford Chance
Reporting
Latest intelligence
Legal Updates
T+1 settlement in Nigeria: what changed, the 5pm deadline and what it means for investors
Nigeria moved to T+1 settlement on 1 June 2026. The SEC rules, the 5pm settlement deadline, why foreign portfolio investors need not prefund, and plans for T+0.
Read the analysis- Legal UpdatesCBN insider credit rules: why bank owners and directors are leaving Nigeria’s banking system
- Legal UpdatesGhana’s Affirmative Action Regulations 2026 (L.I. 2522): what private employers must do
- Legal UpdatesGhana’s GIPA Act 2026 (Act 1173): what changes for foreign investors
- Legal UpdatesNUPRC 2026 licensing round: what bidders need to know about Nigeria’s 40-block offer
Meridian Africa ranking · October 2026
Top 10 African Law Firms
Ranked by verified market activity
Ranked on transactions recorded on the Meridian Transaction Tracker with a named law firm, across African markets, 13 October 2024 to 13 October 2026. Score = recorded matters plus 0.5 for each additional market, scaled so the leading firm scores 100. This measures public evidence of activity, not the quality of advice.
Markets represented Nigeria Angola Mauritius South Africa Kenya Tanzania Rwanda Uganda Egypt Morocco Ethiopia CĂ´te d'Ivoire
Regional
West Africa
Aluko & Oyebode
Nigeria45.5
Templars
Nigeria, Ghana38.9
Geni & Kebe (DLA Piper Africa)
Senegal9.5
N. Dowuona & Company
Ghana6.0
G. Elias
Nigeria9.5
Southern Africa
Bowmans
South Africa19.5
Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr
South Africa9.875
Webber Wentzel
South Africa7.75
ENSafrica
South Africa4.0
East Africa
Bowmans
Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda19.5
Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH Kieti Law)
Kenya9.875
Scores use the same evidence and formula as the table above. Full ranking, evidence and methodology
Firms can add evidence through the submission form. Every item is verified before it counts.
Interviews and conversations
The Meridian TV
Citizen TV Kenya
Ruto and Dangote launch the Lamu refinery project
Citizen TV Kenya newsroom
Dangote Group
Aliko Dangote at the Lamu megasite: the full speech
Aliko Dangote
Olaniwun Ajayi LP
OALP Dispute Series, Episode 2: disputes in Nigeria’s maritime sector
Olaniwun Ajayi disputes team
Aluko & Oyebode
Rethinking authorship, inventorship and ownership of AI-generated works
Webinar panel hosted by Aluko & Oyebode
Olaniwun Ajayi LP
OALP Dispute Series: admiralty claims and prejudgment security
Dr Echefu Ukattah (Partner) and Chioma Ngige (Associate)
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
Unlocking efficient dispute resolution in Sub-Saharan Africa through ICSID mediation
Adedoyin Rhodes-Vivour SAN, Prof. Yas Banifatemi and others
Banwo & Ighodalo, with WIMBIZ
Women in Law Series: becoming a partner (Part 2)
Ayodele Adeyemi-Faboya, Partner, Corporate, Securities and Finance
Olaniwun Ajayi LP, with WIMBIZ
Women in Law Series: becoming a partner (Part 1)
Toyosi Alabi and Ibi Ogunbiyi, Partners
ENS
Who owns African prints? Heritage, identity and IP
ENS intellectual property team
The profession
Legal market
Editorial
The New Silks: Inside Nigeria’s 2026 SAN class
Sixty-eight lawyers take silk on Monday. The rank is fifty-one years old, its rules have tightened, and this year’s class says as much about how Nigeria’s…
Intelligence
Beech Incorporated senior associate Mbuyi Katumba moves in-house to AngloGold Ashanti
Africa Legal reported that mining lawyer Mbuyi Katumba has joined AngloGold Ashanti as Legal Counsel in Johannesburg.
Intelligence
Kenya’s CMA approves first Global Depositary Receipt access for Dangote Refinery IPO
Kenya's Capital Markets Authority approved a short form prospectus allowing eligible Kenyan investors to take part in the Dangote Refinery IPO through Global Depositary Receipts.
Commerce
Business & law
Business & Law
When legal-market data goes wrong
Legal 500 website restored after testimonial publication error The Legal 500 website has been restored after being taken offline following an error that resulted in incorrect…
Deals & Transactions
Quickmart’s owner plans to sell half the chain on the NSE in a private-equity exit through Nairobi
Sokoni Retail Kenya intends to sell 2 billion existing shares. Quickmart raises nothing; the price awaits the Information Memorandum and regulatory approval.
Deals & Transactions
MNT-Halan sets out a 20% EGX float, with Gibson Dunn, Matouk Bassiouny and White & Case on the deal
The parent will sell 320 million existing shares in MNT Tech Holding, the group's Egyptian business, with trading expected before the end of October.
Local and international
Partner Events
Selected by Meridian editors for their value to lawyers, general counsel and executives working in West African markets. Dates verified with each organiser.
4–6 Nov 2026
Local
CIArb Nigeria Branch Annual Conference 2026
The Nigeria Branch's annual conference for arbitrators and disputes counsel, relevant to anyone handling commercial or investor-state disputes.
Registration19 Nov 2026
Regional
The Meridian Webinar: Who Really Moved the Market? West Africa’s Deal Landscape, 2024 to 2026
The Meridian presents the evidence behind the West Africa 50: two years of named, sourced transactions and the firms behind them.
Registration26–27 Oct 2026
Local
32nd Nigerian Economic Summit (NES #32)
The Nigerian Economic Summit Group's annual public-private policy dialogue; its signals shape the regulatory agenda clients will ask about.
Registration27 Jun – 1 Jul 2027
Local
NOG Energy Week 2027
Nigeria's main oil and gas conference gathers the NUPRC, NMDPRA, operators and financiers, making it core for Nigerian energy lawyers.
Registration12–16 Oct 2026
International
African Energy Week 2026
Licensing rounds, deal signings and policy debate across oil, gas, power and minerals; relevant to energy, projects and finance lawyers.
Registration27–29 Oct 2026
Local
Nigeria Energy 2026
West Africa's main power and energy exhibition returns to Lagos, bringing together the regulators, developers and financiers that energy and project finance lawyers advise.
Registration18–22 Nov 2026
Local
AWLA International Conference 2026
The African Women Lawyers Association brings judges, lawyers and policymakers to Accra for five days on legal reform and gender equity in the profession.
Registration19–22 Apr 2027
International
23rd Annual AVCA Conference & VC Summit
The largest Africa-focused private capital conference is held in Abidjan in 2027, bringing global investors to West Africa and to the lawyers who structure their deals.
RegistrationSubmissions
Have a transaction to put on the record?
Meridian tracks significant transactions across sub-Saharan Africa. Law firms can submit completed transactions for editorial consideration.
- 01
Submit
Share the deal, the parties and your firm's role. It takes around ten minutes.
- 02
Editorial review
Editors check the details against public sources and may contact you with questions.
- 03
Decision
Selected transactions are published in the tracker and may inform Meridian reporting and rankings.
Submission does not guarantee publication, inclusion or recognition. Meridian decides independently what it publishes.
Every Thursday at 11:00 AM
The Meridian Briefing
A concise read on sub-Saharan African deals, mandates and market moves, for the people who act on them.
Every Thursday at 11:00 AM
Work with Meridian: editorial partnerships, event intelligence and special projects
New from The Meridian
SILK: The Road to Senior Advocate
An interactive journey through the career choices, briefs and reputation that lead to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
Meridian Lawyer Rankings · October 2026
The lawyers behind the deals
Oluwaseye Ayinla
Duale Ovia & Alex-Adedipe
17 matters · US$9bn · Index 100
Adeniyi Duale
Duale Ovia & Alex-Adedipe
26 matters · US$7.1bn · Index 92.7
Mohamed Abdel Fattah
Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy
6 matters · US$147m · Index 71.5
Tamer El Hennawy
Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy
7 matters · US$195m · Index 61
Omar Bassiouny
Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy
9 matters · Index 58.5
Oludare Senbore
Aluko & Oyebode
12 matters · Index 47.6
Ayodeji Oyetunde
Aluko & Oyebode
8 matters · Index 41.7
Dupe Dabiri
TEMPLARS
2 matters · US$1bn · Index 38.8
Zelda Akindele
TEMPLARS
3 matters · US$24m · Index 36.5
Ajibola Asolo
Aluko & Oyebode
4 matters · US$17m · Index 36.4
Overall positions 1–6, plus the highest-placed lawyers on matters in South Africa, The Gambia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana. Ranked by the Meridian Lawyer Index: named roles on dated, sourced matters, weighted for role, size, cross-border reach, recency and evidence quality. Formula published in full.
Regional · Pan-African outlook · October 2026
Across Africa: the firms and deals on the record
Where Meridian's transaction record shows legal work happening across the continent, which firms lead in each region, and the latest regional deals on the record.
Southern Africa
1Bowmans382Webber Wentzel293ENSafrica254Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr185Werksmans Attorneys14East Africa
1Bowmans192Anjarwalla & Khanna (ALN Kenya)183ENSafrica144BLC Robert & Associates (ALN Mauritius)105Kaplan & Stratton9North Africa
1Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy442Asafo & Co143A&O Shearman74Bennani & Associés65Sharkawy & Sarhan6West Africa beyond Nigeria
1Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah92Asafo & Co43GENI & KEBE34Hogan Lovells35Kimathi & Partners3Transactions on the Meridian record by the market where the deal took place, updated automatically as transactions are published. West Africa 50
Latest regional transactions
Angola · Oct 2026Advice to an oil company on a joint venture to acquire offshore African oil fieldsTransactionMauritius · Oct 2026Advice to a credit fund on a bank recapitalisation related term loanFinancial ServicesEgypt · Oct 2026Invictus Trading FZE financingTransactionGhana · Oct 2026Government of Ghana domestic debt exchangeTransactionGhana · Oct 2026AngloGold Ashanti secondary listingMiningKenya · Oct 2026IFC carbon credit-backed forestry bondTransactionKenya · Oct 2026Liquid Telecommunications Financing PLC bond issueTransactionKenya · Oct 2026Government of Kenya USD 2 billion Eurobond and USD 750 million tapTransactionAfrica IP Rankings · October 2026
Ranked on the record, not the reputation.
IP firms scored on named, dated matters first, then independent recognition and continental reach. Every bar shows what a score is made of.
Where IP deals happen · count by market, Oct 2024 to Oct 2026
Market notes
What is actually driving mandates, market by market
Meridian notes are revised as the tracker changes. Counts show transactions on record in the last 12 months.
Nigeria
114 trackedRecapitalisation-driven financial-services work, Free Zone equity listings and a deepening domestic bond market. Domestic firm panels are getting larger, not smaller.
South Africa
18 trackedThe continent's most sophisticated legal market and the most exposed to global commodity cycles. Canal+ and MultiChoice and Anglo American and Teck both ran through Johannesburg counsel.
Egypt
41 trackedState privatisation and data-centre capital are the two mandate engines. Egyptian counsel are increasingly a discrete workstream rather than managed from London.
Ghana
11 trackedA reported US$19.9bn transaction alongside thin equity capital markets volume. Deep in talent and shallow in flow, a mismatch that favours firms with referral networks.
Kenya
17 trackedPan-African private equity's default East African venue, and the bridge jurisdiction for Ethiopian capital-markets work.
Morocco
24 trackedCasablanca equity capital markets have reopened and domestic funds are originating deals without international sponsors.
Francophone Africa
26 trackedOHADA-zone deal flow is growing and is rarely covered by Anglophone directories. Meridian tracks it as a market in its own right.
Mauritius
0 trackedThe structuring jurisdiction of record. Its Harare Protocol entry in August 2025 also made it an ARIPO filing option for patents and designs.
For in-house counsel
Choose counsel on evidence, not on brand.
Meridian gives you verified mandate records, firm profiles and named counsel across 49 jurisdictions.
Senior Advocates of Nigeria · 2026
The 68 SAN designates to be conferred on 12 October
Approved by the Legal Practitioners' Privileges Committee at its 174th plenary on 23 July 2026: 67 advocates and one academic.
Ibrahim Gamdeh Adamu
Advocate
Jude Chukwuemeka Okafor
Advocate
Godwill Achibong Umoh
Advocate
Sunday Samuel Obende
Advocate
Adebayo Olugbenga Adaralegbe
Advocate
Jimson Ejovi Okodaso
Advocate
Olalekan Lawrence Bade-John
Advocate
Olaotan Thomas Olusegun
Advocate
Philemeon Audu Daffi
Advocate
Adenrele David Adegborioye
Advocate
James Eromosele Agbonhese
Advocate
Alexander Nduka Muoka
Advocate
Onome Okodiya
Advocate
Emmanuel Akunke Akomaye
Advocate
Ikhide Ehighelua
Advocate
Mas'ud Mobolaji Alabelewe
Advocate
Ogunmuyiwa Olayinka Balogun
Advocate
Anthony Auditz Iroagalachi
Advocate
Mohammed Tajudeen Mohammed
Advocate
Odion Peter Odia
Advocate
Gbemiga Adaramola
Advocate
Moses Okoh Onyilokwu
Advocate
Charles Azubuike Obodozie
Advocate
Hakeem Obafemi Agaba
Advocate
Bimbo Felix Atilola
Advocate
Okechukwu Steve Emelieze
Advocate
Joshua Demilade Olaniyan
Advocate
Igonikon Abiola Adekunle
Advocate
Christian Nnadozie Nwokorie
Advocate
Sadiku Momoh Ilegieuno
Advocate
Sarafa Kolawole Idowu
Advocate
Olujoke Enitan Aliu
Advocate
Oliver Onyenucheya Amuzie
Advocate
Adebisi Emmanuel Adeniyi
Advocate
Faruk Abdullah
Advocate
Sagir Gezawa Suleiman
Advocate
Ifeanyi Godwin Ezeuko
Advocate
Adebayo Folorunsho Ologe
Advocate
Sabiu Gumba Adamu
Advocate
Eric Keme-Egolukumor Omare
Advocate
Soibi Ideriah Ovia
Advocate
Somina Peter Johnbull
Advocate
Chinedum Ikenna Umeche
Advocate
Emmanuel Eghiegba Ekhasemomhe
Advocate
Mohammed El-Hassan Sheriff
Advocate
Junaidu Bello Marshall
Advocate
Olawale Sunday Fapohunda
Advocate
Adebiyi Alaba Adetosoye
Advocate
Senior Sulyman Ibrahim
Advocate
Agba Eimunjeze
Advocate
Ayobamidele Oyekunle Akande
Advocate
Adetunji Taiwo Adedoyin Adeniyi
Advocate
Olamide Mojigbotoluwa Adekunle
Advocate
Umaru Yunusa
Advocate
Akorede Habeeb Lawal
Advocate
Darlington Nnabuike Ozurumba
Advocate
Nnaemeka Francis Patrick Egonu
Advocate
Kayode Orire Omosehin
Advocate
Mitchel Akinrinsola Aribisala
Advocate
Bolu Agbaje Akadri
Advocate
Oluwaseun Asimiyu Alao
Advocate
Olugbenga Olusanya Ajala
Advocate
Mustapha Olayinka Ajenifuja
Advocate
Afees Hassan Adebayo
Advocate
Mohammed Abiodun Adelodun
Advocate
Jonathan Akintola Makinde
Advocate
Olajide Salami
Advocate
Prof. Nnamdi Onyeka Obiaraeri
Academic
Portraits will be added after the conferment ceremony.