UNDP Africa and AfriCatalyst Hold Regional Workshop to Enhance Credit Ratings for Development in Africa
Africa requires an additional $1.3 trillion annually to make significant strides toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), making innovative financing strategies and improved access to international capital markets essential.
Recent downgrades by the Big Three credit rating agencies—Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch Ratings—have underscored the pressing need for many African nations to address fiscal challenges and secure sustainable development financing.
In response, nearly 50 stakeholders and key government officials from Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) are gathering in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for a three-day regional workshop.
The event aims to equip participants with the knowledge and tools needed to improve their countries’ credit rating processes.
Taking place from September 2 to 4, the Regional Workshop on the Development Context for Enhanced Credit Ratings in Eastern Africa is a collaborative effort between AfriCatalyst and UNDP Africa.
The initiative is designed to help African countries navigate the complex landscape of credit ratings through capacity building, practical training, and advisory services. It also provides a platform for policymakers to connect and engage in the credit rating space.
During the opening session, Samuel Doe, UNDP Ethiopia’s Resident Representative, emphasized the critical role of understanding credit rating processes and their impact on development financing to achieve the SDGs.
He stated, “Credit ratings are crucial as they enhance a country’s reputation and market standing. A lower credit rating results in higher capital costs, which means more resources allocated to debt servicing rather than priority areas. African nations often face difficult decisions between managing debt and investing in their future.”
Daouda Sembene, CEO of AfriCatalyst, highlighted the importance of collaboration between government officials and credit rating agencies.
He said, “We hope this workshop initiates meaningful and productive collaborations, knowledge sharing, and peer learning among government officials in the region.
Together, we must enhance support for African countries to access adequate and affordable financing to accelerate progress toward the SDGs, particularly in key sectors such as health, education, climate resilience, and infrastructure.”
Shigeki Komatsubara, UNDP Tanzania’s Resident Representative, praised the initiative and urged African countries to leverage this opportunity to deepen their understanding of credit rating processes.
“Let us fully capitalize on this opportunity to restore our collective credit strengths, as we did in the early 2000s, with the support of UNDP’s pioneering Africa credit rating initiative,” he remarked.
Zuzana Brixiova Schwidrowski, Director of Macroeconomics, Finance, and Governance at UNECA, stressed the importance of the initiative, noting that “with only two African nations currently holding investment-grade ratings, the sovereign debt burden remains a critical challenge.
UNECA, in partnership with UNDP, is committed to helping African countries seize this momentum, build strong institutions, and usher in a new era of positive credit ratings and sustainable development.”
Raymond Gilpin, Chief Economist at the UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa, led the first session, focusing on Africa’s development context and the significance of credit ratings.
He emphasized, “We need to view credit ratings as a development financing issue. By collaborating with professionals, we can improve data quality, enhance knowledge of the appropriate policy and institutional frameworks, and learn how to effectively negotiate with credit rating agencies.”
The workshop will conclude on September 4 with a high-level policy dialogue titled “A Continent in Conversation: Alternative Strategies to Improving Africa’s Credit Ratings” at the UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa in Addis Ababa.
This event will bring together key policymakers, government officials, and experts from across Africa for an open discussion on the strategic and policy implications of sovereign credit ratings and their impact on Africa’s development financing landscape.
Since its inception, the UNDP-AfriCatalyst credit ratings initiative has been enhancing the capacity of government officials in African countries, starting with a capacity-building workshop held in Tanzania in July 2024.
The initiative’s key components include the Africa Credit Ratings Resource Platform, a central hub for resources and tools on credit ratings; a Concilium of senior advisors providing high-level guidance and support to countries seeking to improve their credit ratings; and a community of practice fostering knowledge sharing and collaboration among government officials and other stakeholders.
AfriCatalyst, an independent global development advisory firm, strives to build partnerships between global and local actors to promote innovative, evidence-based solutions to Africa’s development challenges.
