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. Fitch has maintained that its methodology is consistent and transparent.

To safeguard its independence, AfCRA will not be owned by African governments and is expected to focus mainly on ratings of local-currency debt.

President Bola Tinubu had earlier this year backed the establishment of an Africa-owned credit rating agency in an opinion article published by the Financial Times.

Tinubu described the difference between perceived and actual risk in African markets as an Africa premium, arguing that it raises borrowing costs across the continent.

He said African economies remain heavily exposed to the assessments of the three major global rating agencies, whose ratings influence investor sentiment but may not always capture local economic conditions.