S&P Global Ratings has upgraded Kenya’s long-term sovereign credit rating to ‘B’ from ‘B-’, citing reduced near-term external liquidity risks, stronger foreign exchange reserves, and resilient economic growth. The outlook has been maintained at stable.

• The rating agency highlighted that robust export earnings-particularly from coffee-and sustained diaspora remittances helped narrow Kenya’s current account deficit to 1.3% of GDP in 2024, from 2.6% in 2023.

• These inflows, alongside recent debt operations, boosted Kenya’s foreign reserves to a record $11.2 billion in July 2025, nearly double the $6.6 billion held at the end of 2023.

• The upgrade coincides with a growing discontent among African governments and institutions about global credit ratings agencies.

In June, Fitch Ratings downgraded Afreximbank over ‘high’ credit risks. In the ensuing fallout, the bank and other analysts cited the credit ratings agency for misunderstanding the structural components of the continental’s shareholding and founding treaties.

Six months earlier, the African Union had faulted Moody’s revision of Kenya’s credit rating outlook from negative to positive, arguing the change is an admission that the July 2024 downgrade was premature and incorrect.

Negative ratings raise the cost of borrowing, as downgraded economies find it harder to access financing from international markets. This in turn worsens fiscal pressures, make repayment of existing loans harder, and create more bottlenecks for already struggling economies. Africa’s ‘new’ plan is to create its own ratings agency, the African Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) to “to complement [the three major credit ratings agencies] by providing an alternative perspective.” But will this work?

Capital Markets

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) closed the week on a strong note, extending a rally that has reshaped market sentiment and lifted investor wealth by KSh1 trillion since Frank Mwiti took over as CEO in May 2024.

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