How much we pay for the debt that we incur determines a great deal in our lives. This is true of countries too. In the world of sovereign debt – money raised or borrowed by governments – the cost of debt is dependent on, among other factors, how rating agencies “grade” a country.
It's a sensitive issue. Three agencies dominate the rating business. A criticism often meted out is that they judge African countries more harshly than others, which pushes up borrowing rates. These tensions lie behind the acrimonious fall-out between one of the big three – Fitch – and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
On 28 January 2026 Fitch announced it had downgraded the bank's credit rating to junk status, and that it was ending its relationship with the bank.
Fitch's decision was preceded by Afreximbank announcing that it was severing all ties with the rating agency. A few days later the African Union weighed in, issuing a statement from its watchdog, the African Peer Review Mechanism, backing the bank's decision, and warning Fitch not to issue any credit assessments of the bank. The rating agency clearly chose to ignore the warning.
Below you can find articles from our archives that examine various dimensions of Africa's debt challenges.
Africa's development banks are being undermined: the continent will pay the price
Africa's new credit rating agency could change the rules of the game. Here's how
Eurobonds issued by African countries are popular with investors: why this isn't good news
African countries are bad at issuing bonds, so debt costs more than it should: what needs to change
African finance ministers shouldn't be making bond deals: how to hand over the job to experts
Senegal's rating downgrade: credit agencies are punishing countries that don't check their numbers
South Africa's debt has skyrocketed – new rules are needed to manage it
By Caroline Southey, Founding Editor, Africa, The Conversation And
Lyrr Thurston, Copy Editor, The Conversation
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