S&P Global Ratings said it’s stepping up its presence in Africa, including expanding its Johannesburg hub, as it seeks to dispel long-standing perceptions that international credit rating agencies contribute to the continent’s elevated cost of capital.
The move follows mounting calls for more inclusive and context-sensitive financial assessments, particularly in the wake of South Africa’s G20 presidency prioritizing the cost of capital as a key agenda item.
Some African leaders and stakeholders have advocated for the creation of a homegrown African credit rating agency to challenge the dominance of the “big three” global players—S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch—and to address what is widely viewed as an unjustified “Africa risk premium” imposed by foreign investors.
This shift comes just two months after the 2025 Africa Annual Conference on Credit Ratings (ACRC), held in Johannesburg, which built on the groundwork laid during the 2024 edition in Nairobi, Kenya.
The conference was themed “Unlocking Domestic Financing through Improving Credit Ratings,” and convened a wide array of participants including policymakers, economists, investors, rating agencies, and development partners.
Discussions focused on the structural flaws within current rating systems and emphasized the need to develop mechanisms that reflect Africa’s economic potential more accurately.
At the center of this renewed discourse was the urgent call for Africa to take ownership of its financial narrative. Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Investment Promotion, Abubakar Hassan, underscored the shortcomings of traditional credit rating models, stating that they often fail to account for Africa’s unique economic environments and investment opportunities.
He stressed that Africa-based rating agencies, equipped with deep local insight, could offer fairer assessments, improve investor confidence, and ultimately lower the cost of borrowing for African countries and corporates. “The time has come for Africa to take charge of its financial identity,” he said, pointing to the value of indigenous institutions in shaping a new financial future for the continent.
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This sentiment was echoed by the Chairman of Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority, Ugas Mohamed, who noted that well-regulated and transparent credit rating frameworks are vital for fostering investment and managing risk effectively.
He argued that a robust regulatory environment could elevate the accuracy and credibility of credit assessments, making them more beneficial to the continent’s long-term economic trajectory.
In Cape Town, the 2025 conference also spotlighted practical steps toward reform. It was led by Metropol Group Managing Director Sam Omukoko, who focused on leveraging data and technology in improving credit rating systems.
Omukoko said enhanced data collection and transparency are critical for accurate credit profiling, pointed to the transformative “potential of artificial intelligence and machine learning in modernizing the credit rating process—especially in under-analyzed segments like SMEs, which are key engines of job creation and economic resilience in Africa.”
Ambassador Marie-Antoinette Rose Quatre, CEO of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), called attention to a sobering reality: 22 African countries remain unrated, and very few corporations on the continent hold any form of credit rating.
This lack of representation hampers domestic resource mobilization and limits access to international financing and strongly backed the proposal to establish an African Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA), positioned to deliver more tailored and equitable assessments that can unlock greater investment flows.
The push for reform is grounded not only in principle but also in strategy putting into consideration the importance of aligning short-term financial instruments with long-term development goals.
Stakeholders stressed the need to invest in internal data systems, cultivate active engagement with rating agencies, and create regulatory safeguards that uphold the credibility and accountability of credit evaluations.
“The ultimate objective is to chart a path toward affordable capital, improved sovereign and corporate credit profiles, and a more empowered Africa within the global financial system.”
The conversation is shifting from critique to action even as the continent reimagines its credit framework, with growing momentum behind the creation of AfCRA, increased regional cooperation, and an overarching interplay between data, governance, and finance, the continent is positioning itself to redefine its creditworthiness on its own terms—and in doing so, reshape its economic destiny.
