BY CHINYERE OBIORA – Echoes from Africa’s rating agencies landmark summit in Mauritius are still reverberating strongly that the continent does not need new credit rating agencies or institutions to fix its financial challenges; instead, it must build deep global trust and credibility for its existing rating systems to attract major international investors.
According to DataPro Limited, deep-seated deficit in market trust, adoption, and shortage of influence are serious challenges that must be effectively addressed by stakeholders.
The Agency said for current credit ratings to command the trust and recognition needed to unlock institutional capital, they must be universally recognized, trusted, and actively used to drive critical financing decisions across the continent.
This pressing reality dominated debates at the 2026 Africa Rating Agencies Conference in Mauritius with the discussions culminating in a high-level roundtable convened by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and AfriCatalyst on October 7, 2026, held alongside the 2nd Africa Annual Conference on Credit Ratings and the official launch of the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA).
DataPro said to confront the barriers stalling the adoption of domestic credit ratings, the conference pulled together a powerful group of over 50 influential players from rating agencies, regulatory frameworks, financial institutions, government bodies, business associations, and development organizations, with the mandate of dismantling the systemic bottlenecks that prevent domestic credit ratings from being used on a wider scale.
It said as part of engagements during the conference, Managing Director of Metropol Corporation, Samuel Omukoko, noted that while the supply of agencies and methodologies was comparatively well structured, market demand remained underdeveloped, and participants further identified greater awareness among borrowers and investors, alongside regulatory recognition, as vital to encourage wider use of ratings.
Additionally, the summit participants highlighted that limited recognition by regulators and public institutions can prevent ratings from informing lending, investment and public procurement decisions, even as DataPro pointed out that strengthening credibility, transparency and regulatory supervision was considered essential to building confidence in domestic rating markets.
On improving cross-border integration and comparability, the agency identified, fragmented regulatory frameworks, licensing requirements and limited portability of credit information as major obstacles to assessing businesses across African markets.
In his intervention, President and Chief Executive Officer of the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi, said finance must seamlessly cross borders to support expanding regional supply chains, adding that powering this growth, means bolstering domestic rating markets through unified regulatory cooperation and regional licensing.
These measures aim to slash market barriers and establish common reference points, allowing investors to evaluate credit risk consistently across jurisdictions, he noted while identifying other measures to include broader data access, incorporate reliable alternative data, such as transaction flows, utility and rental payments, supply-chain records and operational information, particularly when assessing SMEs with limited formal credit histories.
But for DataPro, integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital tools aims to lower assessment costs and optimize oversight without sacrificing human judgment, adding that supporting this evolution will need sharper credit rating literacy among businesses and investors.
It said clearly, the ultimate goal is to foster stronger regional cooperation and consistency, while respecting the unique methodologies of individual African rating agencies.
