…Demands fair assessment of continent’s economies

President Bola Tinubu has welcomed the African Union’s announcement that the African Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) will officially commence operations on October 7, describing the initiative as a significant step towards building a more credible and Africa-focused financial architecture.

Tinubu, who has consistently advocated the establishment of an African credit rating institution, said the continent was not seeking preferential treatment or favourable ratings, but a fair and rigorous assessment of its economies based on their fundamentals, reforms and actual risk profiles.

The President made the position known in a statement posted on his official X handle, @officialABAT, in which he welcomed the AU’s announcement of AfCRA’s October 7 launch.

He recalled that he had made a case for an African credit rating agency in an article published by the Financial Times in February, arguing that Africa needed institutions capable of better understanding the peculiarities of its economies and providing more accurate assessments of investment risks.

Tinubu said he subsequently reiterated the argument in May at the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, where he stressed the importance of developing African financial institutions that could evaluate the continent’s economic realities more appropriately.

According to him, the establishment of AfCRA represents another important step towards achieving that objective.

The President said: “I welcome the African Union’s announcement that the African Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) will officially launch on October 7.

“In February, I made the case in the Financial Times for an African credit rating agency. In May, at the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, I spoke again about the need for Africa to build financial institutions that understand our economies and can assess our risks properly.

“AfCRA is another step towards that goal.”

Tinubu maintained that the initiative would be meaningful only if it could command the confidence of international investors and global capital markets.

He therefore charged the proposed agency to establish its credibility through institutional independence, professional rigour and objective assessments.

“Africa is not asking for favourable ratings. We are asking for fair ratings, grounded in our fundamentals and in the reforms our economies are actually carrying out,” the President said.

He added: “AfCRA must now earn the confidence of global capital. That confidence will rest on its independence and the rigour of its work.
“I look forward to October 7.”

The President’s endorsement comes amid growing calls for reforms in the way African economies are assessed by international credit-rating institutions, particularly over concerns that ratings may not always sufficiently reflect the continent’s economic fundamentals, reform efforts and investment opportunities.

AfCRA is expected to provide an Africa-based perspective in sovereign and other credit assessments while strengthening the continent’s financial architecture and potentially improving access to capital for African governments and businesses.

Tinubu has made the reform of Nigeria’s economy and the mobilisation of domestic and international investment a central pillar of his administration, repeatedly arguing that stronger institutions, improved fiscal management and credible economic reforms are necessary to attract long-term capital.

The launch of AfCRA, he said, therefore represents not merely the creation of another financial institution, but an opportunity for Africa to take greater ownership of how its economic risks and investment prospects are understood and presented to the global financial community.