A credit ratings company being established to meet the unique needs of Africa’s sovereign borrowers is set to be ready by next year, an African Union official said Saturday.

The institution won’t be owned by the regional bloc, Albert Muchanga, its commissioner for development, trade, tourism, industry and minerals, told reporters in Ghana’s capital, Accra. It’d be independent and professional, he said.

“We feel that we’ve not been treated very well when it comes to ratings and the cost of borrowing,” Muchanga said. “We want an institution developed by Africans to contribute to the process of de-risking the African capital market so that in the end we are able to have a situation where we can borrow competitively at home and abroad.”

African finance ministers first considered setting up such a body in 2021 amid complaints of unfair treatment by international credit ratings firms that they said lead to higher interest rates relative to what other emerging-market borrowers and developed countries pay.

The task is being undertaken by the African Peer Review Mechanism, African Development Bank, African Export-Import Bank and the AU Commission, Muchanga said. The project is at its next phase of operationalization that entails “coming up with the final work plan to ensure that we are able to roll it out,” he said.