On 27th and 28th March 2024, Christopher Egerton-Warburton attended the Retreat on the Operationalization of the Africa Credit Rating Agency (ACRA) in Lusaka, hosted by African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) under the leadership of Prof Eddy Maloka, Chief Executive APRM Continental Secretariat and sponsored by the Open Society Foundations and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. The meeting was attended by delegates from across African Ministries of Finance and Central Banks and enabled a frank discussion about how the ACRA could be established and implemented.
Christopher highlighted the fact that over the past 20 years African Sovereigns had defaulted significantly less than their ratings had implied and that as a result over this period African Sovereigns had paid the price of this perceived risk. That to be credible an African Credit Rating Agency would need to be held to the same standards. It could not say that African nations were risk-free, if they then defaulted, but it should also not be overly pessimistic or conservative.
It was agreed that data was at the heart of any accurate credit assessment and Lion’s Head Global Partners explained the steps they are taking to improve the availability of accurate data for African Sovereigns.
