AU-mandated Africa Credit Rating Agency launched in Mauritius

The launch ceremony of the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA), an African Union (AU)-mandated institution, was held on Wednesday in Balaclava, northern Mauritius.

Headquartered in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, AfCRA aims to strengthen how international financial markets assess and understand African sovereigns, sub-sovereigns, and businesses by improving data, expertise and context on African credit risk, helping enhance Africa's voice in global financial governance.

AfCRA is a private sector-driven, self-funded and independent entity established under the oversight of the AU's African Peer Review Mechanism. Governments will not be allowed to hold shares in the agency, a measure the AU says is intended to protect its independence from political influence.

The agency will rate African sovereigns, sub-sovereigns, companies, and public and private institutions. It may also assess non-African entities, subject to decisions by its management.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said AfCRA would provide African and international investors and economic partners with independent studies and analysis of African economies.

He said that when risk assessments were driven by "political considerations," the resulting high cost of capital could hinder investors and African countries from investing in infrastructure, health, education, energy and industrialization, further compounding the "significant debt service pressures" facing member countries.

According to the AU, Africa's external debt service increased from $61 billion in 2010 to $163 billion in 2024, with interest payments exceeding public spending on health or education in most countries.

AfCRA aims to help ease those pressures by strengthening investor confidence, improving market transparency and expanding access to credit assessments. Only 32 African countries currently have ratings from the three major international credit rating agencies, leaving much of the continent without formal sovereign ratings, according to AU figures.

Youssouf said AfCRA would not seek to replace existing international credit rating agencies, but would complement them by offering an "additional Africa-focused perspective."