The global financial architecture is undergoing intense scrutiny amidst calls for reform to ensure fair, inclusive, and development-oriented financing for emerging and developing economies. One of the most critical, yet underexplored, dimensions of this reform agenda is the role of international credit rating agencies (CRAs) in shaping sovereign access to capital, determining borrowing costs, and influencing development trajectories.

African countries have long raised concerns about the opacity, methodological biases, and pro-cyclicality of sovereign credit ratings issued by dominant global agencies. These concerns were exacerbated during COVID, when several African economies experienced rapid downgrades despite relatively low default rates. In response, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and other partners, has taken the lead in proposing systemic reforms and establishing the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) — a continental institution designed to bring transparency, contextual accuracy, and African agency into the global credit rating ecosystem.

This UNGA side event offers a timely and strategic platform to elevate African voices in global financial discourse, share policy innovations, and build consensus around a more equitable and development-sensitive global credit rating system.