The African Union is launching the continent’s first credit rating agency on Wednesday, aiming to provide an alternative to the global “big three” by drawing on African expertise and perspectives. The opening of the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA), which will be based in Port Louis, Mauritius, comes eight years after the African Union (AU)…
The launch of the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) is a welcome step towards strengthening the continent’s voice in how its economies are assessed. Its mandate to draw on African data, expertise and economic realities deserves support. Credit ratings have consequences far beyond financial markets. They influence investors’ decisions, access to borrowing and the interest…
S&P Global has agreed to acquire a majority stake in pan-African credit ratings agency Agusto & Co., expanding its presence in Africa’s domestic credit markets through a partnership that combines global analytical expertise with regional market knowledge. The transaction, announced on Tuesday, remains subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second…
Current credit ratings may disadvantage the continent, but wouldn’t an African agency amount to Africa ‘marking its own homework’? Can Africa itself correct the bias it says the Big Three credit rating agencies display in grading African sovereigns? The African Union (AU) and other voices on the continent believe this bias gives African countries unfairly…
Some developing country governments spend years making the reforms that international financial institutions want – only to find that their efforts are not rewarded. They may make budgets more transparent, publish their debt obligations, set up independent bodies to monitor government spending, and complete an International Monetary Fund programme, but still receive the same ratings…
The rating agency S&P Global’s Africa Credit Rating Trends 2025 reviews the past year’s rating activities and analyses the continent’s prospects for 2026. It is an important document because it interprets underlying drivers of creditworthiness. It shapes how global investors and policymakers understand risk, opportunity and reform dynamics across the continent. But the document had…
Africa’s development finance challenge has reached a critical point. Mounting debt pressure is squeezing fiscal space. And essential needs in infrastructure, health and education remain unmet. The continent’s governments urgently need affordable access to international capital markets. Yet many continue to face borrowing costs that make development finance unviable. Sovereign credit ratings – the assessments…
How much we pay for the debt that we incur determines a great deal in our lives. This is true of countries too. In the world of sovereign debt – money raised or borrowed by governments – the cost of debt is dependent on, among other factors, how rating agencies “grade” a country. It’s a…
Reuters/Ipsos survey suggests Americans are increasingly unhappy with Trump’s handling of the economy. Published On 16 Dec 202516 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share A new poll suggests that the number of people in the United States who approve of the job Donald Trump is doing as president has dropped…
South Africa on Friday secured its first credit rating upgrade in nearly 20 years after S&P Global raised the country’s foreign-currency long-term sovereign rating to “BB” from “BB-“, citing stronger growth prospects, an improving fiscal outlook and reduced contingent liabilities following better performance at state power utility Eskom. National treasury has worked to arrest rising…
