Business confidence improves as credit to enterprises up to E13.2bn

MBABANE – In a clear sign that local corporate entities are aggressively positioning themselves for expansion, business confidence in Eswatini has marked a significant upward trajectory.

This comes on the back of fresh data revealing that credit extended to businesses climbed by 3.2 per cent month-on-month and 9.8 per cent year-on-year, reaching a milestone of E13.2 billion in May 2026.

According to the latest Monthly Statistical Release from the Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE), this corporate credit injection formed part of a broader expansion in total private sector credit, which rose to E23.9 billion.

The appetite for capital was not uniform across the board, but rather led by high-performing anchor sectors. The stellar month-on-month credit expansion was primarily turbocharged by heavy borrowing in key industries:

• Agriculture and forestry: Led the pack with a massive 12.9 per cent growth in credit allocations.
• Construction: Followed closely with an impressive 11.4 percent rise, signaling robust infrastructure development.
• Distribution and tourism: Registered a healthy 6.9 per cent growth, pointing to strong consumer demand and service sector recovery.
• Transport and communications: Chalked up a modest 0.4 per cent uptick.
• Manufacturing: Rounded out the positive growth with a fractional 0.2 per cent increase.

This economic momentum was slightly tempered by localised pullbacks. Contractions in credit appetite were recorded in mining and quarrying (-3.0 per cent), community, social and personal services (-2.3 per cent), and real estate (-0.5 per cent) subsectors.

A deeper look into the anatomy of the business credit surge reveals a mixed narrative between the country’s industrial giants and smaller operations.

• Large enterprises: Credit to big corporations grew by 7.3 per cent month-on-month and 9.0 per cent year-on-year to hit E9.0 billion. This cohort remains the heavy lifter, monopolizing 68.5 per cent of the total business credit pie.
• SMEs: Small and medium enterprises saw a month-on-month dip of 4.7 per cent, though they maintained a solid 11.6 per cent year-on-year growth rate, accounting for the remaining 31.5 per cent of corporate credit.

Households also showed strong financial appetite, with credit to households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) advancing by 1.9 per cent month-on-month and 14.4 per cent year-on-year to settle at E9.8 billion.

This household borrowing was heavily driven by unsecured personal loans, which spiked by 4.0 per cent to reach E4.1 billion.