Africa’s new credit rating agency in talks with 15 countries ahead of 2027 debut
Lagos, Nov. 2026 – The Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA), a new pan-African credit rating agency, is in talks with 15 African countries about assigning them sovereign credit ratings.
Officially launched in Mauritius on October 7, 2026, the agency expects to publish its first ratings by the end of March 2027, acting CEO Sifiso Falala told Reuters on November 3.
AfCRA intends to conduct research in several countries, including Togo, Kenya, Seychelles, Burundi, and Mauritius, to prepare assessments of their ability to meet their financial obligations.
The agency also intends to extend its services to banks, businesses, and African multilateral financial institutions, including Afreximbank.
Established with support from the African Union, AfCRA aims to offer a different assessment of African credit risk in a market dominated by three major international agencies: S&P Global Ratings, Moody’s, and Fitch Ratings.
It says its methodology will place greater emphasis on local economic data and countries’ debt repayment records, while relying less on assessments from international financial institutions, particularly the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
A $15 Million Fundraising Effort to Finance Growth
AfCRA still needs to strengthen its financial base and governance structure. The agency is currently owned by Plus 94 Research, a South African company co-founded in 1998 by Sifiso Falala and Tirhani Mabunda that specializes in surveys, market research, and data analysis. AfCRA intends to raise $15 million from African investors in exchange for a two-thirds ownership stake.
According to its investment prospectus published in October, the transaction would value the company at $22.5 million after the capital increase. Plus 94 Research would retain the remaining one-third stake.
Falala also said the agency has completed the acquisition of a 51% stake in Sovereign Africa Ratings, a South African credit rating firm that he also founded and leads.
This ownership structure raises questions about the independence of AfCRA’s future ratings.
The agency intends to operate under an issuer-pays model, in which governments requesting ratings pay for the service and provide access to their financial data.
The same model is used by major international rating agencies, but it requires safeguards to prevent conflicts of interest between clients and analysts.
AfCRA says it has established several safeguards, including separating commercial activities from rating decisions, using independent rating committees, and excluding governments from its shareholder base.
Gaining Investor Recognition Will Be Key
Beyond issuing its first ratings, AfCRA will need to convince financial markets that its assessments are reliable.
Major institutional investors, including pension funds and international asset managers, often operate under internal or regulatory rules that specify which credit rating agencies they can rely on.
As a result, an AfCRA rating will not automatically replace those issued by Moody’s, Fitch, or S&P in investment decisions.
The agency will need to obtain the necessary regulatory recognition and demonstrate the reliability of its analysis.
This distinction matters because one of the agency’s stated goals is to help reduce borrowing costs for African governments. Achieving that goal will depend not only on producing credit ratings but also on whether investors recognize and use them.
In its own investment prospectus, AfCRA acknowledges that institutional legitimacy alone will not be enough to secure acceptance in financial markets. (ecoFin agency)
