A week of conversations on African finance in Bangkok. Our experts met with partners and co-convened side events at the 2026 IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings, exploring how Africa can put its capital to work and secure fairer access to finance. A few moments with our team 📸 #IMFMeetings #WBMeetings

We need a new deal on debt. This is why.

🔴 Starting soon: As traditional donors scale back support, what role should #China play in the future of multilateral development finance? Join CGD live from #Bangkok at the #WBGMeetings. 📺 4 AM EDT | 3 PM ICT: cgdev.org/event/new-era-mult…

Congratulatory Note On the Launch of Africa Credit Rating Agency On behalf of the Government and people of the Republic of Kenya, and on my own behalf, I convey our warmest congratulations to the African Union on the historic launch of the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) in Port Louis, Republic of Mauritius. As the African Union Champion for Institutional Reform, I regard this achievement as a powerful expression of our shared determination to build an AU that is strong, effective and fit for purpose, and to advance Agenda 2063 through institutions that translate continental ambition into tangible results. I also commend the African Peer Review Mechanism and its partners for their leadership in bringing this important reform initiative to fruition. I have consistently championed the reform of the global financial architecture, fair and credible assessment of African risk, and the establishment of AfCRA as an African-led institution capable of reflecting the continent’s true economic realities and potential. Its launch affirms a wider continental aspiration: Africa must shape its own narrative, strengthen its financial sovereignty and mobilise capital for development on fairer terms. This achievement now calls for collective political ownership. African leaders must place their full weight behind AfCRA’s success while safeguarding its independence, professionalism and methodological integrity. In this spirit, Kenya is pleased to welcome AfCRA and to commence discussions on Nairobi serving as a secondary jurisdiction for the agency, as well as on Kenya becoming a sovereign client of this important continental institution. Through this commitment, Kenya seeks to demonstrate the practical leadership, confidence and solidarity required to transform Africa’s collective aspirations into durable institutions. At a moment when global markets are being reshaped by geopolitical competition, volatile capital flows, the energy transition and artificial intelligence, Africa must have trusted institutions capable of interpreting these shifts through the prism of its own realities and development priorities. AfCRA is thus more than a new institution; it is a strategic instrument for strengthening investor confidence, widening Africa’s policy space and ensuring that the continent participates in the emerging global financial order with greater agency, unity and influence.