In its effort to provide greater visibility to economic actors and investors, Africa is preparing to launch its own financial credit rating agency.
The African Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) is expected to officially begin operations by September 2025.
To ensure its impartiality and avoid conflicts of interest, the agency will not be owned by African governments, but rather by private sector entities from across the continent. Its work will focus on rating local currency debt issued by governments, financial institutions, and African companies.
The agency will focus exclusively on African economies, incorporating data and socio-economic indicators specific to each region and adapted to the African context.
Its first sovereign rating is expected between late 2025 and early 2026, according to Ecofin Agency.
In the lead-up to its launch, consultations have been held to appoint its Director-General, said Misheck Mutize, lead expert on credit rating agencies at the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), which operates under the African Union (AU).
The African Credit Rating Agency is a continental initiative aimed at providing independent, credible, and African-led credit ratings for states, local governments, and businesses. Its main objective is to reduce dependence on the three major international credit rating agencies and address the specific needs of African countries.
It seeks to give the continent the opportunity to build a credit rating system that reflects Africa’s socio-economic realities, and to promote a fairer representation of its creditworthiness.
