By Maxwell Awumah
Ho, June 6, GNA – Experts, policymakers and financial practitioners from across African Island States will gather in Mombasa, Kenya, from June 12 to 13, 2026, for a high-level workshop to enhance sovereign credit ratings and unlock access to sustainable climate and blue economy financing.
The workshop, jointly organised by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Island States Coordination Committee (AISCC), is on the theme: “Unlocking Pathways to Resilience: Reframing Risk and Enhancing Credit Ratings for Sustainable Financing in African Island States.”
According to a release shared with the Ghana News Agency, the event will provide a platform to strengthen capacities in credit rating analysis, resource mobilisation and climate finance integration.
It will also be held as a side event to the “Our Ocean Conference,” scheduled for June 16 to 18.
African Island States face a unique combination of structural constraints, including small domestic markets, geographic isolation, and heightened exposure to external shocks and climate risks.
These factors significantly influence sovereign credit ratings, which determine the cost of borrowing and access to global capital markets, as well as innovative financing instruments such as climate and blue bonds.
The workshop will address critical challenges facing participating countries, including limited access to affordable long-term financing and the underrepresentation of climate vulnerability and resilience investments in credit rating assessments.
It will also explore how countries can better communicate their economic and environmental strengths, including blue economy assets such as marine resources, sustainable tourism and fisheries, to investors and rating agencies.
Participants will engage in technical sessions and peer exchanges covering key areas such as sovereign rating methodologies, integration of climate resilience into macroeconomic frameworks, improvement of data systems, and alignment of debt management and climate finance strategies.
The programme will further examine innovative financing tools, including sustainability-linked bonds, resilience clauses and blended finance mechanisms.
The AISCC, which brings together nine African Island States along with the Kingdom of Morocco as a founding partner, plays a critical role in advancing coordinated approaches to climate resilience, financial innovation and sustainable development.
By the end of the workshop, participants are expected to strengthen their understanding of rating agency methodologies, enhance coordination across ministries and central banks, and identify practical pathways to improve creditworthiness and mobilise resources more effectively.
A set of actionable recommendations and a roadmap for sustained engagement with credit rating agencies and investors will also be developed.
The workshop will bring together representatives from Ministries of Finance, Ministries of Environment, central banks and national stock exchanges, fostering a whole-of-government approach to financing resilience and sustainable growth.
GNA
Edited by Lydia Kukua Asamoah
Reporter: Maxwell Awumah