The number of Sub-Saharan African sovereigns in the international bond markets has almost tripled since 2007, with newcomers including Zambia, Ethiopia and Kenya raising money in the past three years alone. Among the banks helping to bring issuers to market is a surprising name – Deutsche Bank.

Unlike competitors such as Citigroup or Barclays, which has its Barclays Africa subsidiary, Deutsche has little in the way of an African presence. It has offices only in Johannesburg and Lagos, plus a Cairo office which covers North Africa. But that has not stopped the bank from becoming one of the go-to names for issuers from the continent.