African Union to launch continent's first credit rating agency in Mauritius
The launch of the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA), which will be based in Port Louis, Mauritius, comes eight years after the African Union (AU) first endorsed its creation.
"AfCRA complements existing global credit rating agencies by offering a perspective rooted in African data, expertise and realities," the AU said in a statement.
African leaders and finance experts have previously accused Western ratings agencies such as S&P Global Ratings, Moody's Ratings and Fitch Ratings of failing to fairly assess the risk of lending to African countries and of moving too quickly to downgrade them during crises such as conflicts and pandemics.
The agencies reject that criticism, saying they apply the same methodologies globally.
A 2024 Reuters investigation into Africa's debt crisis found no evidence of systemic bias in the sovereign ratings assigned by the three major global credit rating agencies.
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AfCRA, which will rate sovereign borrowers, financial institutions and private companies, will operate independently and be funded through shareholder capital and its operations, according to the AU.
The AU says the agency should help improve African countries' access to capital markets and provide investors with more balanced and context-specific assessments of economies across the continent.
The drive to improve borrowing terms for the continent has become more urgent following years of increased government borrowing, which has pushed some countries into debt distress in recent years.
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"The stakes are significant," the AU said, adding that the continent's annual external debt service surged to €145.5 billion in 2024, from €54.48bn in 2010.
In many countries, interest payments have exceeded the annual budgets for key social sectors such as health and education.
"AfCRA aims to reduce such burdens by improving investor confidence and market transparency," the AU said, adding that the agency will also rate non-African entities where appropriate.
The AU said the new agency is also expected to boost coverage, with 23 economies on the continent lacking a rating from the three big agencies.