The Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA), launched last month to challenge the dominance of the world's three biggest ratings firms, is in talks with 15 African sovereigns and aims to publish its first ratings by March, its interim CEO said.

Staff from the Mauritius-based agency, established following an African Union initiative in 2018, will conduct research in countries including Togo, Kenya, Seychelles, Burundi and Mauritius, Sifiso Falala told Reuters.

"We will be in a position, by March, before the end of March, to have released results," he said in an interview.

AfCRA says it aims to offer an additional perspective on African creditworthiness through its ratings approach.

The agency will provide solicited sovereign ratings, under which governments pay for assessments and provide access to officials and financial data. It also plans to rate African multilateral lenders, including Afreximbank, and private financial institutions.

AFRICAN CONCERNS OVER RATINGS

African leaders have long argued that S&P Global Ratings, Moody's and Fitch overstate lending risks on the continent and downgrade countries too quickly during periods of stress.

The agencies reject those claims, saying they apply the same methodologies globally. A 2024 Reuters investigation into Africa's debt crisis found no evidence of systemic bias in the sovereign ratings assigned by the three firms.

Lower ratings typically raise borrowing costs by increasing the yields investors demand and can restrict access to some institutional investors.

"Cost of borrowing is really a huge burden to Africa," Falala said, citing estimates that African economies pay an additional $75-billion a year in interest costs compared with borrowers elsewhere.

Africa's debt has risen to about $1.9-trillion, Falala said. The African Union estimates the continent's annual external debt-service bill climbed to $163-billion in 2024 from $61-billion in 2010.

"What Africa needs is thorough research," Falala said, adding that AfCRA aimed to rely less on data from international financial institutions such as the IMF. 

AfCRA is privately owned, with governments barred from holding stakes. It is owned by Plus 94 Research, a South African research company co-founded by Falala and Tirhani Mabunda, and plans to raise $15-million through a share sale that would give African investors a two-thirds stake, Falala said.

He added that AfCRA had completed the acquisition of a 51% stake in Sovereign Africa Ratings, a South African ratings firm founded and run by Falala.