Nigeria’s technology-driven credit rating agency, DataPro Limited, has assembled a stellar team of experts, policymakers, academics and practitioners for its 2026 international rating webinar, to be held digitally on Thursday, 8th October, 2026, between 2 pm and 4 pm.
The 6th in the Series has the theme: ‘Sovereign Credit Rating: Africa’s Roadmap to Investment-Grade Status’
According to a statement signed by Client Services Manager, DataPro, Kehinde Rasheed, the event is expected to air live on LinkedIn and YouTube.
The Keynote Speaker for the 2026 Webinar is Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite.
Uzoka-Anite is a distinguished economist, public policy professional, and Nigeria’s Minister of State for Budget and Economic Planning.
She previously served as Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and later as Minister of State for Finance, where she contributed to key areas of Nigeria’s economic reform and investment agenda.
In March 2026, she was redeployed to the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, where she currently serves as Minister of State.
With experience spanning public policy, economic management, investment, trade, and fiscal matters, Uzoka-Anite understands the structural and policy factors that influence economic performance, fiscal sustainability, and investor confidence.
As a key policymaker within Nigeria’s economic management architecture, Uzoka-Anite is well positioned to provide valuable insights into the policy, institutional and economic reforms required to strengthen sovereign credit profiles across Africa.
She is expected to share her experience and educate participants on ‘Sovereign Credit Rating: Africa’s Roadmap to Investment-Grade Status,’ with a particular focus on economic planning, fiscal management, sustainable development, public-sector reforms, investment mobilisation, and the policy measures needed to strengthen economic resilience and investor confidence.
Speaking ahead of the Webinar, Mr Abimbola Adeseyoju, Founder and Managing Director of DataPro Limited, said the annual event provides an important platform for deepening understanding of the role and value of Credit Rating Institutions, particularly in challenging economic environments.
According to him, credit ratings remain an important component of the financial system, providing independent assessments that support informed investment and financing decisions by investors, lenders and other market participants.
The 2026 International Rating Webinar will examine what it takes for African economies, particularly Nigeria, to achieve and sustain investment-grade sovereign credit status.
Discussions will focus on the economic, fiscal and institutional factors that influence sovereign creditworthiness, including fiscal discipline, revenue mobilisation, debt sustainability, macroeconomic stability, economic diversification, policy credibility and institutional effectiveness.
Participants will gain insights into how sovereign ratings are determined, what drives upgrades and downgrades, and how economic policies and fundamentals influence investor confidence and access to capital. The Webinar will also address common misconceptions about sovereign ratings and highlight their broader role in strengthening financial market confidence.
The discussion will also consider how a stronger sovereign credit profile can complement Nigeria’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030. Stronger institutions, fiscal management, debt sustainability, policy consistency and economic growth can help create the stable investment environment required to attract the capital needed for infrastructure, productive capacity, private-sector expansion and diversification.
The Annual International Rating Webinar forms part of DataPro Limited’s broader commitment to promoting greater awareness and understanding of the credit rating industry in Nigeria and across Africa.
Through the initiative, DataPro seeks to facilitate greater collaboration, knowledge exchange and cooperation among credit rating institutions and other stakeholders across the African continent.
Other A-listed panelists expected at the webinar are: Dr Torsten Schmidt, Head, Macroeconomics and Public Finance Research, RWI-Essen; Dr Daniel Cash, Founder, Credit Rating Research Initiative; Mrs Oluwakemi Babalogbon, Executive Director, Risk Management, Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), Nigeria; Dr Kai Gehring, Professor of Political Economy, University of Bern; and Dr Misheck Mutize, Lead Expert, Credit Rating Agencies, African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). Prince Oladele Adeoye, Chief Rating Officer of DataPro Limited, will moderate the panel discussion.
Goodwill messages are also expected from Dr Emomotimi Agama, Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning; and Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, Statistician-General/CEO, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).