Day 1 Highlights: Regional Consultation on Strengthening Sovereign Credit Ratings in West Africa

Last week, we co-hosted a transformative three day regional consultation in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, alongside our partners: UNDP Africa, the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), and African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), with support from the Japan – The Government of Japan.

With over 50 senior officials from Ministries of Finance, Central Banks, and Statistics Offices across West Africa, the engagement focused on “Strengthening Sovereign Credit Ratings”.
Participants engaged in technical sessions with former credit analysts from Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch, gaining hands-on insights into rating methodologies, risk assessments, and communication strategies.

Key discussions focused on:
👉 Closing the credit rating gap
👉 Improving rating methodologies
👉 Advancing local currency ratings
👉 Focus on training officials to effectively engage and negotiate with rating agencies
👉 Emphasis on data-driven, locally led strategies to shape sovereign credit outcomes.

As debt servicing costs rise and access to affordable finance tightens, the consultation advanced collaboration between public institutions and technical partners towards building long-term, resilient financial frameworks.

🗒️ We have put together a comprehensive write-up capturing the insights, key messages, and policy pathways discussed during the workshop – now available for your review – bit.ly/3HKxzEV