Kenya has announced its support for the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA), describing the move as a key step in improving the continent’s credit standing.
President William Ruto welcomed the creation of the Mauritius-based agency, which is intended to independently evaluate sovereign and corporate credit risks across Africa.
Ruto wrote on his official X account that he has “consistently championed the reform of the global financial architecture, fair and credible assessment of African risk, and the establishment of AfCRA as an African-led institution capable of reflecting the continent’s true economic realities and potential.”
AfCRA was formed by the African Union in partnership with the African Peer Review Mechanism and was launched on October 7, 2026, with a mandate to deliver reliable, independent and technically rigorous analysis for African and international investors.
The agency’s launch follows calls from African leaders to change how the three major global rating firms – Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch – price African sovereign credit.
Ruto added that “at a moment when global markets are being reshaped by geopolitical competition, volatile capital flows, the energy transition and artificial intelligence, Africa must have trusted institutions capable of interpreting these shifts through the prism of its own realities and development priorities.”
The African Union said AfCRA is not meant to replace existing international rating agencies, shield borrowers from scrutiny or guarantee favourable ratings, but to add an independent, Africa-focused perspective to the market.
Ruto also invited AfCRA to begin talks on designating Nairobi as a secondary jurisdiction for the agency and on Kenya becoming a sovereign client of the new institution.
