Addis Ababa, 3 June 2026 (ECA) — Experts, policymakers, and financial practitioners from across African Island States will gather in Mombasa on 12–13 June 2026 for a high-level workshop to enhance sovereign credit ratings and unlock access to sustainable climate and blue economy financing.
Jointly organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Island States Coordination Committee (AISCC) under the theme “Unlocking pathways to resilience: reframing risk and enhancing credit ratings for sustainable financing in African Island States”, the workshopwill provide a platform to strengthen capacities in credit rating analysis, resource mobilization, and climate finance integration. It will be organised as a side event to Our Ocean Conference, scheduled for 16-18 June.
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. These, in turn, determine the cost of borrowing and access to global capital markets and 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 also 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 mobilize resources more effectively. A set of actionable recommendations and a roadmap for sustained engagement with credit rating agencies and investors will be developed.
The workshop will bring together representatives from Ministries of Finance, Ministries of Environment, Central Banks, and national stock exchanges from participating island states, fostering a whole-of-government approach to financing resilience and sustainable growth.
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Sonia Essobmadje
Chief, Finance and Domestic Resource Mobilization Section
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
Email: sonia.essobmadje@un.org
Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org