Africa Credit Rating Agency to Issue First Sovereign Ratings by March 2027

The Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) announced that it will publish its first sovereign credit ratings by March 2027. The agency, launched on October 7 in Mauritius, is backed by an African Union initiative and is led by interim chief executive Sifiso Falala.

Agency launch and first assessments

AfCRA is in discussions with 15 African countries and plans to assess five nations initially: Togo, Kenya, Seychelles, Burundi and Mauritius. The agency’s researchers are preparing the methodology that will guide these inaugural ratings.

Funding, governance and market context

AfCRA seeks to raise $15 million from African investors in exchange for a two‑thirds ownership stake. It will adopt an issuer‑pays model, whereby governments pay for their assessments, but the agency says independent committees and a separation between commercial operations and rating decisions will safeguard the integrity of its scores.

The new rating body enters a market dominated by three global agencies—S&P Global Ratings, Moody’s and Fitch Ratings—which have historically set the benchmark for sovereign credit assessments. The African Union notes that 23 of its 55 member states currently lack ratings from these agencies, a gap that hampers access to international capital markets. Countries such as Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Sierra Leone are among those without existing ratings.

External debt‑service payments across the continent have risen sharply, from $61 billion in 2010 to $163 billion in 2024. AfCRA argues that continent‑wide, locally informed ratings could help investors gauge risk more accurately and potentially improve financing conditions for African governments.

Regional competitors already operate in the space, including Nigeria’s Agusto & Co, Côte d’Ivoire’s Bloomfield and South Africa’s Sovereign Africa Ratings. AfCRA distinguishes itself by pursuing a continent‑wide sovereign rating mandate.

AfCRA’s first ratings are expected by March 2027, contingent on the participation of the countries that have agreed to be assessed.