The African Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA), an ambitious new player set to challenge the dominance of global rating firms, has postponed its official launch to the end of September after missing its initial mid-2025 target.
Misheck Mutize, lead expert on credit-rating firms at the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), an African Union body, made the announcement last week.
According to Mutize, AfCRA will issue its first sovereign credit rating report by December 2025 or early 2026 and appoint its chief executive officer in the third quarter, out of the candidates already shortlisted.
Several African governments, municipalities, and companies have expressed interest in getting rated, he added.
AfCRA was created amid growing dissatisfaction with the “big three” global rating agencies—Fitch Ratings, Moody’s, and S&P Global Ratings—which African governments have accused of bias and lack of transparency.
The new agency aims to fill this gap by providing credit ratings from an African perspective.
Last week, the APRM criticised Fitch’s downgrade of the African Export-Import Bank, calling it flawed and reflective of a “misunderstanding of the governance architecture of African financial institutions.”
Fitch responded, saying its ratings follow globally consistent and publicly available criteria.
African leaders have long argued that skewed ratings from global agencies have had profound consequences for the continent’s development.
A recent United Nations (UN) report, cited by Kenya’s President Willam Ruto during an AU summit held earlier in the year, supports this claim.
The UN estimates that such biased assessments cost Africa approximately $75 billion annually—funds that could otherwise be invested in vital infrastructure, healthcare, and education.
Addressing a major concerns about the new agency, Mutize clarified that AfCRA will not include governments among its shareholders to maintain independence and avoid conflicts of interest.
“Shareholding will mainly be African private-sector driven entities,” he said, declining to name investors due to ongoing negotiations.
MCB Capital Markets, a subsidiary of Mauritius’s largest bank, acts as AfCRA’s transaction adviser.
The agency will focus on local-currency debt ratings to support the growth of domestic capital markets and reduce foreign exchange risk across the continent.
Mutize stressed the agency’s commitment to objective assessments, saying “It is important to debunk the assumption that AfCRA is being established to give favorable ratings to Africa — no.”
With growing interest from governments and companies across the continent, the Africa-led credit rating agency is off to a promising start.
However, its long-term success will hinge on its ability to convince investors that it will deliver impartial and rigorous assessments, free from undue optimism or bias.
