The African Union (AU) will launch the African Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) on October 7, 2026, in Port Louis, Mauritius, where the agency will be headquartered.
The AU announced this on its official X account yesterday, saying the agency would provide an alternative to ratings by global agencies such as Fitch Ratings, Moody’s and S&P Global Ratings. AfCRA is expected to provide context-driven credit opinions on sovereign and corporate entities, with the AU arguing that global ratings have often failed to adequately reflect the economic realities of African countries.
African governments have increasingly criticised international rating agencies for what they consider excessive risk assessments, which they say have contributed to higher borrowing costs and an unfair premium on capital raised in international markets.
The launch was initially scheduled for September 2025 but was postponed by a year. Concerns over international credit ratings have intensified in recent years, with Ghana and Zambia among countries that have argued that rating downgrades worsened their debt challenges.
The African Peer Review Mechanism also recently criticised Fitch’s downgrade of the African Export-Import Bank, saying the rating agency had failed to adequately assess the bank’s fundamentals.
