South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA)

05/10/2026

📺 The first day of the Africa Annual Conference on Credit Ratings has concluded.

Representing SAIIA, Luanda Mpungose, Dr Joseph Upile Matola and Goodwill Stanley Kachingwe participated in dialogues on reforming systems, mobilising domestic capital, deepening African financial markets, reducing borrowing costs and strengthening Africa’s .

Discussions focused on:
💫 How risk assessments influence long-term investment in Africa.
💫 The role of credit rating agencies in Africa’s evolving financial architecture.
💫 Strengthening domestic capital markets.
💫 Improving understanding of credit ratings among governments, investors and regulators.

Hosted by the African Peer Review Mechanism, the conference brings together policymakers, financial institutions, credit rating agencies, investors, researchers and other key stakeholders from across and beyond.

📺 Watch the day’s full recording ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRRawJOoINM

📸 African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM)

05/10/2026

📺 In case you missed it | In South Africa and across the Global South, intersect with poverty, unemployment, spatial inequality and constrained public finances, threatening to deepen existing divides and reverse hard-won development gains.

Last month, SAIIA and AFD - Agence Française de Développement hosted a webinar exploring how , inequality and development are interconnected and need to be addressed collectively.

Discussions highlighted that:
🍃 A just transition must extend beyond energy and coal-sector jobs to address deeper inequalities.
🍂 Climate action must reflect local realities, including people’s livelihoods and abilities to adapt.
🍃 Finance and public policy must work together to support resilience and inclusive growth.

📺 Watch the full recording here ➡️

Climate change is not a crisis that affects everyone equally. The c...

05/10/2026

⏺️ LIVE | The 2nd Annual Conference on Credit Ratings has begun under the theme "Towards Developing African Capital Markets: Rechannelling Africa’s Capital".

🌍 The two-day conference brings together policymakers, regulators, credit-rating experts, financial institutions, investors, development partners and other stakeholders to examine the future of Africa’s financial architecture and capital markets.

💳 Discussions will explore risk and the mobilisation of ’s domestic capital into long-term investments, the evolving role of the credit rating industry, deepening African domestic capital markets, rating education and financial literacy, and in , innovative financing and , and rechanneling African capital for African development.

🎥 Watch live here ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOwojVKHu40&t

02/10/2026

💫 The SAIIA team will participate in the 2nd Africa Annual Conference on Credit Ratings, taking place from 5 to 6 October in Mauritius under the theme of "Towards Developing African Capital Markets: Rechannelling Africa’s Capital".

💱 Luanda Mpungose, Dr Joseph Upile Matola and Goodwill Kachingwe will join discussions on reforming systems, mobilising domestic capital, deepening African financial markets, reducing borrowing costs, and strengthening Africa’s .

Hosted by the African Peer Review Mechanism view Mechanism, with SAIIA as a strategic partner, the conference will bring together policymakers, financial institutions, credit rating agencies, investors, researchers and other key stakeholders from across and beyond.

📊 Sessions will cover risk and long-term investment, deepening Africa’s domestic capital markets, the role of credit ratings in continental financing, financial literacy, and the impact of , and innovative financing.

The conference sets the stage for a landmark week for Africa’s credit ratings agenda, culminating in the launch of the African Credit Rating Agency ( ) on 7 October.

🔗 For more information, visit ➡️ https://bit.ly/4hyPz3b

01/10/2026

📺 In case you missed it | To explore how African countries can secure financing that supports development without deepening debt vulnerabilities, SAIIA and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung hosted a timely webinar on 29 September.

Discussions centred around the high cost of financing for African countries, repayment pressure and risks, the influence of credit ratings on borrowing costs, and alternatives to for .

📺 Watch the full recording here ➡️ https://bit.ly/4dbik4S

📚 For more on the debt and issues discussed, explore SAIIA’s recent research:
📖 The Need for a Permanent Mechanism on Sovereign Debt Restructuring ➡️ https://bit.ly/4hzmBQD
📖 Credit Rating Agencies in an African Context ➡️ https://bit.ly/46TT7IC

👏 A special thanks to our speakers: Dr Joseph Upile Matola, Dr Misheck Mutize, Trevor Lwere, Jules Devie and Mma Amara Ekeruche

Sustainable finance in Africa is at the centre of an evolving globa...

29/09/2026

📚 BOOK REVIEWS | With this post, we are introducing a new quarterly series highlighting book reviews featured in the South African Journal of International Affairs ( ).

In the latest issue, expert reviewers weigh in on recently published books that explore what peace means in an environment of profound technological and societal transformation. From digital peace tech and the evolving dynamics of international relations to counter-terrorism in West Africa and electoral technologies across the continent, they offer sharp, substantive analyses of essential new scholarship.

🖊️ PeaceTech: Digital Transformation to End Wars by Christine Bell — Reviewed by Brooks Spector
🖊️ Peace in Digital International Relations by Oliver P. Richmond, Gëzim Visoka and Ioannis Tellidis — Reviewed by Dr Tyne Williams
🖊️ Digital International Relations: Technology, Agency and Order edited by Corneliu Bjola and Markus Kornprobst — Reviewed by Samantha Schaller
🖊️ Nigeria’s Counter-Terrorism Strategy: Constructions of Threat, Response and Identity by Kodili Henry Chukwuma — Reviewed by Alex Vines
🖊️ Digital Technologies, Elections and Campaigns in Africa edited by Duncan Omanga, Admire Mare and Pamela Mainye — Reviewed by Nanjala Nyabola

➡️ Read them here: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rsaj20/33/2

28/09/2026

📚 NEW RESEARCH | What will it take for the Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation to deliver a fairer global system?

🌍 For African countries, a fairer distribution of taxing rights could strengthen domestic revenues and reduce reliance on costly – creating more room to fund , , and .

Success will depend on securing the political backing needed to turn technical reforms into lasting change, writes Kesaobaka Nancy Mopipi.

📙 Read more here ➡️ https://bit.ly/4yjwM2X

28/09/2026

📸 In February, the Statement on Air Pollution was handed over to the City of Joburg during the Air Aware: Youth-Led Conference on Air Pollution Policy & Implementation.

💡 The question now is: How do we move from a Youth Statement to meaningful, youth-led local clean-air action?

This August, Youth, in collaboration with Breathe Cities and the City of Johannesburg, shifted from dialogue to action through the Youth Action Accelerator and Youth Air Champions workshops, empowering young individuals to champion clean-air advocacy in their communities.

🔗 Read more here ➡️ https://bit.ly/4ytHfsP

28/09/2026

✒️ 's Regional Development Fund ( ) is a key instrument for the bloc’s regional integration projects – yet member states fund less than 10% of these initiatives.

🌍 “This should alarm anyone who takes SADC’s industrialisation ambitions seriously. If the RDF is meant to be the key vehicle for financing corridors and cross-border infrastructure, then the implementation lag becomes a structural constraint that could prove insurmountable,” writes Dr Joseph Matola, who heads the Economic Resilience and Inclusion Programme at SAIIA.

🔗 Read more here ➡️ https://bit.ly/4j4TEP2

21/09/2026

💻 Webinar | Africa has returned to the market – but at what cost?

💱 Since 2024, several African countries have returned to international capital markets, often at borrowing costs of around 8.5%. This raises a bigger question: what role should Eurobonds play in ’s development financing future?

Join SAIIA and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung on 29 September for a webinar exploring in Africa – from Eurobonds to alternative financing options.

Details:
📅 29 September
⌚ 2pm – 3pm

📢 Register here ➡️ https://bit.ly/eurobondafrica

Moderator
💫 Dr Joseph Upile Matola, SAIIA

Speakers
💫 Dr Misheck Mutize, African Peer Review Mechanism
💫 Mr Trevor Lwere, Development Reimagined
💫 Mr Jules Devie, Finance for Development Lab
💫 Ms Mma Amara Ekeruche, Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa