Assessing the Influence of International Credit Rating Agencies on Investment and Development in Sahelian African States

This paper examines the instrumentalization of International Rating Agencies as a tool of soft power diplomacy by certain States to influence investment and development in Africa. The socio-political crisis experienced by African states in the early decades of independence and exacerbated by the Economic Financial Crisis of the 1990s undermined foreign investment and development as remarks on business climate published by International Rating Agencies (ICRA) were not encouraging. ICRA in the past decades has proven to be an efficient Early Warning System (EWS) to lessen economic, political, and foreign policy fallout. ICRA became more influential after the 2008 global financial international investors, Development agencies, and donors in Africa strongly rely on studies and reports produced by ICRA to carry out their activities. Over the past two decades, the number of African governments issuing Eurobonds for debt restructuring and infrastructure financing has increased. Drivers of this shift towards Eurobonds include the desire of African governments to rely less on aid resources to support development financing needs and the increased inclusion of African countries in global capital markets (Chirikure et al, 2023). It is worth mentioning that Eurobonds are issued on international financial markets, and global investors require credit assessments from internationally recognized rating agencies of the issuer country. This suggests the significant influence ICRAs have on the choice of international investors and as brokers of development in Africa. Given that ICRAs have a nationality and identity, some States, notably Western nations have weaponized the latter as their foreign policy tool, especially against African regimes considered autocratic. Using the qualitative approach founded on existing secondary and primary literature, this paper analyses the socio-political, economic, and external drivers that have prompted ICRAs to determine whether or not certain Africa