AfCRA targets March debut for first African sovereign credit ratings

The African Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) aims to debut its inaugural sovereign credit ratings by the end of March 2027, as it initiates discussions with African governments. Interim CEO Sifiso Falala announced these plans to Reuters, explaining that AfCRA is in talks with 15 African sovereign nations and intends to research in countries such as Togo, Kenya, Seychelles, Burundi, and Mauritius.

The African Union officially launched AfCRA on October 7, 2026, with the goal of offering an African viewpoint on the continent's creditworthiness and countering the control of established global rating agencies. AfCRA expects to publish its initial sovereign credit ratings before the conclusion of March 2027, as it strives to provide an alternative assessment of African economies.

The agency is currently engaging with 15 African governments and intends to conduct research across multiple countries as it prepares its first evaluations. AfCRA plans to issue solicited sovereign ratings, where governments pay for assessments and grant access to officials and financial data. Additionally, it aims to assess African multilateral lenders, including Afreximbank, and private financial institutions.

AfCRA pointed out that African economies spend an extra $75 billion annually in interest costs compared to borrowers in other regions. African debt is estimated at around $1.9 trillion, with the AU reporting that the continent's annual external debt-service bill increased from $61 billion in 2010 to $163 billion in 2024. The push for an African credit rating agency began in 2018 when the AU Assembly endorsed the initiative, and African finance ministers endorsed its establishment in a July 2023 declaration in Nairobi.

African leaders have long expressed concerns about the expense of accessing international capital markets and the evaluation of the continent's creditworthiness, attributing the projected rise in costs to maturing debt obligations, governments' ongoing fiscal financing requirements, and the limited size of domestic financial markets.