At a high-level dialogue held on the sidelines of the 2025 IMF–World Bank Spring Meetings, African institutions and global credit rating agencies reaffirmed their commitment to developing a fair, transparent, and inclusive credit rating ecosystem for Africa, according to the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

Organised by the African Union’s (AU's) African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the ECA, AfriCatalyst and the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), and hosted at the Open Society Foundations, the dialogue brought together senior representatives from Moody’s, S&P, and Bank of America for a candid discussion on financing solutions for African countries.

With more than 30 African countries subject to sovereign credit ratings, the decisions of global rating agencies significantly impact debt sustainability and access to international financial markets, ECA notes.

Against a backdrop of rising market volatility, sovereign defaults and constrained fiscal space, the dialogue aimed to address urgent reforms in Africa’s credit rating framework.

Speakers identified structural issues such as data gaps, methodological opacity and under-engagement between African governments and the ‘big three’ credit rating agencies – Moody’s, S&P and Fitch – as barriers to accurate ratings.

ECA executive secretary Claver Gatete acknowledged Africa’s financing paradox – a combined GDP of over $3-trillion, yet only two countries rated investment grade – and underscored the urgent need for reform.

“Ultimately, a healthy credit rating ecosystem goes beyond evaluating risk – it becomes a platform for mobilising capital, improving creditworthiness, and supporting Africa’s broader development goals,” he said.

“We must rethink how creditworthiness is defined and measured,” added UNDP Africa chief economist Raymond Gilpin, speaking on behalf of UNDP regional director for Africa Ahunna Eziakonwa.

“At UNDP, we believe a development-centric approach is essential to supporting governments in strengthening institutions, improving data systems, and engaging effectively with credit rating agencies to reshape the narrative around Africa's creditworthiness.”

ECA notes that African economies face mounting credit rating challenges, including perceptions of bias, lack of transparency and inconsistencies in rating methodologies.

APRM lead credit rating expert Misheck Mutize and ECA macroeconomics, governance and finance director Zuzana Schwidrowski proposed solutions to addressing the capacity of African governments to respond to inaccurate or unfair credit ratings and steps toward creating an African Credit Rating Agency that complements and expands existing credit ratings coverage globally.

S&P Global Ratings MD Roberto Sifon-Arevelo, Moody’s Ratings senior VP Jorge Valez and chief economist for Africa at Bank of America Tatonga Rusike outlined opportunities to remedy longstanding risk perception issues and work together with banks and investors to build capacity and a better understanding of rating methodologies to address transparency.

They further emphasised that while sovereign credit ratings were not the sole determinant of investor decisions, they exert significant influence over borrowing costs, market confidence and access to capital.

"Given the ongoing stress in African governments related to both cost of capital and access to capital it is critical to ensure that credit ratings reflect the many different African contexts. This initiative is an important step in that regard - particularly engaging the credit rating agencies," shared ACET president and CEO Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi.

“The Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) is not being established to issue favourable ratings for African entities, but rather to contribute to a diversity of rating opinions that support more accurate assessments of African sovereigns, corporates, and sub-sovereigns,” expressed Mutize.

“Our priority is to build a credible, independent, and sustainable institution that plays a vital role in developing domestic debt markets and rebalancing Africa’s position within the evolving global financial architecture.”

In his closing remarks, AfriCatalyst CEO Daouda Sembene stressed the urgent need for collaboration among African institutions.

“AfriCatalyst is proud to be at the heart of this critical dialogue, building on the foundation of our Credit Ratings Initiative with UNDP.

“We are optimistic that through stronger collaboration between African institutions and global rating agencies, we can foster a more accurate, robust, and representative credit rating ecosystem – one that empowers African nations and promotes sustainable growth,” said Sembene.

Key messages included the need for transparent and regular engagement between rating agencies, investors and African governments; stronger institutional narratives that reflect the continent’s resilience and reform efforts; and local capacity-building and collaboration, particularly through the proposed AfCRA, which aims to provide credible, contextual alternatives to global ratings.

As South Africa chairs the Group of Twenty (G20) and the AU assumes permanent membership of the G20 this year, the call for an African-led credit rating solution takes on added urgency, says ECA.

It expresses that the outcomes of this dialogue will contribute to ongoing efforts to reform the global financial architecture and ensure Africa’s capital works better for Africa’s development.