UNDP, ACET and other partners collaborate to strengthen African countries’ capacity to navigate the credit ratings process and thereby boosting credit ratings to ease access to more affordable capital. ACET is supporting a webinar series to provide insights on various aspects of credit ratings and their impact on African economies. 

The first webinar, Economic Transformation and Credit Ratings, was held on September 30, 2024, and explored the linkages between the two issues. Drawing upon ACET’s African Transformation Index, it was emphasized that performance on economic transformation is central to the determination of credit ratings, as key issues such as diversification, export competitiveness, and human well-being are used as inputs to credit rating methodologies, along with financial performance indicators.

The second webinar, “Credit Ratings and International Development Cooperation: What it Means for Africa”  took place on July 9, 2025.  This followed the Finance for Development Conference (FfD4) in Seville Spain whereby the outcome document addressed credit ratings and their impact on international development. The webinar assessed progress at FfD4 and follow-on actions related to credit ratings – and particularly what those actions mean for Africa.

The third webinar is planned for November 2025 following the UNDP Credit Rating Initiative workshop in Mombasa Kenya. This will focus on “Coordination and Planning within Government to Engage CRAs.” For many developing and middle-income countries, how governments manage their engagement with credit rating agencies (CRAs) significantly impacts investor perceptions, borrowing costs, and fiscal sustainability. A well-structured internal task force within government can enhance the coherence, quality, and credibility of this engagement. The webinar will explore good practices globally, and on the continent, as well as needs of African governments to improve coordination and planning. 

The fourth webinar is planned for December 2025 and will explore “The Status and Role of Credit Rating Agencies in Africa”.  This will address how African countries use different methodologies that are more reflective of African country circumstances, what unique customers they serve and how they can be further utilized to reduce the cost of capital. 

The fifth webinar is planned for February 2026 with the topic being “Credit Ratings and African Domestic Capital Markets”.  In African domestic markets, where information asymmetry is often high, ratings help reduce uncertainty for both domestic investors and lower government borrowing costs. Ratings can also improve standards of disclosure and risk assessment, which can, in turn, lead to strengthened domestic financial institutions’ credit risk practices. There are interesting global experiences with national credit rating agencies and domestic debt markets which may provide insights for African governments.