African countries are paying a heavy financial price for the way their borrowing risks are judged, with President William Ruto saying the continent has lost about Sh9.71 trillion through higher interest charges and lending opportunities missed because of subjective credit ratings.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, Ruto said developing nations continue to face much higher borrowing costs than developed economies, making it harder for them to finance projects needed for development.
“Developing countries have recently borrowed at rates two to four times higher on average than developed nations,” Ruto said.
He said the debate over access to international finance should also consider the terms under which countries receive loans, including the interest charged, the period given to repay and how lenders determine the level of risk attached to each country.
“The question therefore is not simply whether finance is available. It is who can access it, at what price, for how long, and under whose assessment of risk,” he said.
Ruto said sovereign credit ratings have a major bearing on how countries are viewed by lenders and investors, while also influencing the interest rates they pay and the amount of money they can secure.
“Africa knows the cost of that assessment. Sovereign credit rating shapes perceptions of risk, the interest countries pay, and even the volume of finance available to them,” Ruto said.
Africa’s Sh9.71 trillion loss
The President pointed to an estimate by the United Nations Development Programme which puts the financial cost of subjectivity in credit ratings for African countries at about $75 billion.
The loss, he said, has come through excessive interest payments as well as lending that African countries could have received but did not.
At an exchange rate of Sh129.49 to the dollar, the $75 billion estimate amounts to about Sh9.71 trillion.
The UNDP research cited by Ruto also indicates that African countries could save the same $75 billion if credit ratings became less subjective, through lower borrowing costs and increased access to lending.
Ruto said the current system raises questions about whether developing countries are being charged fairly for the risks associated with financing them.
“Risk, ladies and gentlemen, must be measured, but it must also be measured fairly,” he said.
High financing costs
The President said expensive credit has consequences for the ability of developing countries to carry out major infrastructure projects.
He said the cost of borrowing should not make development projects that would otherwise make commercial sense too expensive simply because they are located in African countries.
“We cannot build a fair global economy if the nations with the greatest development needs face the highest cost of development finance,” Ruto said.
He cited road and electricity projects as examples of investments that should not face higher costs simply because of their location.
Ruto said a commercially viable road should not lose its viability because it crosses an African border, while the cost of a power project should not rise because of the country where it is being constructed.
He called for a system in which lenders continue to account for risk but do so without allowing other factors to unfairly increase the cost of capital.
“Capital must price risk. It must not price prejudice,” Ruto said.