LAUNCH OF THE AFRICA CREDIT RATING AGENCY
Opening Remarks
By
Claver Gatete
United Nations Under-Secretary-General and
Executive Secretary of ECA.
Port Louis, Mauritius,
7 October 2026
Delivered on the Executive Secretary’s behalf by Hanan Morsy, Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Economist, ECA.
Vice President of the Republic of Mauritius, His Excellency Jean Yvan Robert Hungley,
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Burundi, His Excellency Nestor Ntahontuye,
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, His Excellency Mahmoud Ali Youssouf,
The CEO of the African Peer Review Mechanism Continental Secretariat, Her Excellency Ambassador Marie-Antoinette Rose-Quatre,
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade of Mauritius. The Honourable Dhananjay Ramful,
Minister of Financial Services and Economic Planning, Republic of Mauritius, the Honourable Jyoti Jeetun,
The State Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development of the Republic of Uganda and Chairperson of the African Peer Review Focal Points Committee, the Honourable Amos Lugoloobi,
The United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and the U.N. Special Advisor for Africa, Office of Special Advisor for Africa. Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa,
Honorable Ministers,
Development partners,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I want to start by thanking the Government and people of Mauritius for hosting this important occasion in the beautiful city of Port Louis.
Let me also express my sincere gratitude to Ambassador Marie-Antoinette Rose-Quatre for her leadership in coordinating the institutions involved in bringing AfCRA to this stage.
Today marks an important milestone in Africa’s long quest for greater fairness in the international financial system
I commend the African Union, the African Peer Review Mechanism, and all those who have worked so hard over the years to make the Africa Credit Rating Agency a reality.
It comes amid longstanding concerns across African countries that sovereign risk assessments do not always adequately reflect country fundamentals, with consequential effects on the cost of borrowing and investment flows.
When perceptions of risk do not fully reflect the realities of a country’s economy, the consequences are obvious. We see them every day.
Governments pay more to borrow. Investment is becoming harder to attract. The scale of this burden is significant. Estimates suggest that persistent African risk premiums cost the continent approximately US$75 billion per year in excess interest payments, diverting scarce public resources away from development priorities like infrastructure, health, and education.
Ratings also shape policy choices. During the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns about potential rating downgrades discouraged some eligible countries from requesting temporary debt-service suspension under the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative.
When governments hesitate to use an internationally agreed crisis-support mechanism because of possible rating consequences, it points to a need to reassess how such risks are evaluated.
AfCRA offers an important opportunity to help address this imbalance.
By bringing a deeper understanding of African economies, data and reform trajectories into the ratings landscape, it can help broaden the information and perspectives available to investors.
Its proximity to the markets it rates, its knowledge of local institutions, and its understanding of reform programmes as they unfold, should be its comparative advantage.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The objective is not preferential treatment for African sovereigns. It is greater accuracy, transparency and contextual relevance in the assessment of credit risk.
AfCRA is a private sector-driven, independent agency. Its credibility will depend on rigorous assessments, transparent methodologies and, ultimately, the trust it earns from governments, investors and markets.
That trust must be built deliberately: through strong governance, clear impartiality, sustainable financing, and the willingness to deliver unwelcome news when the evidence warrants it. A rating agency that cannot downgrade will not be believed when it upgrades.
Over time, AfCRA should also seek appropriate recognition from central banks, securities regulators and other competent authorities, so that its ratings can be used, where relevant, within investment, risk-management and prudential frameworks.
This would help embed AfCRA's assessments in the functioning of African capital markets and financial institutions.
It is also important to emphasize that AfCRA is not intended to replace the three major international credit rating agencies.
It will complement their work, bringing additional data, knowledge and perspectives into the ratings landscape and helping to promote greater transparency and fairness in how African economies are assessed.
Its coverage need not stop at sovereigns. Ratings of sub-national entities, companies and local-currency instruments can help deepen domestic capital markets and give African pension funds and insurers more investable opportunities here at home.
With a fuller picture of African economies, investors can better assess opportunities and risks, and financing terms can more accurately reflect economic fundamentals.
That can help unlock capital for governments, businesses, infrastructure and other development priorities.
And this matters because public resources alone cannot meet Africa’s financing needs.
We need to mobilize far more private capital, both domestic and international, if we are to deliver on Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
AfCRA is an important part of Africa’s response to this challenge. It also contributes to the wider effort to reform the global financial architecture, as reflected in the UN Pact for the Future and in the Sevilla Commitment adopted at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development.
More accurate and transparent ratings are important but better ratings are only part of the answer. Countries must also get the underlying fundamentals right.
That means sound macroeconomic management, stronger domestic resource mobilization, effective public financial management, responsible fiscal policy and careful management of external balances.
It also means timely, transparent and reliable data. Any rating agency, global or African, can only be as accurate as the information available to it. Strengthening national statistical systems and debt transparency is therefore not a technical detail; it is a direct investment in creditworthiness.
And it means engaging proactively with rating agencies and investors, through dedicated investor relations functions and regular, credible communication. Countries that tell their story clearly and consistently are better understood by markets.
This is an area where ECA, in collaboration with the African Development Bank, the African Union and other partners, continues to support our member States in strengthening their economies and improving their creditworthiness.
We will continue to work with member States to strengthen debt data and fiscal management and deepen local-currency capital markets.
And we look forward to working with AfCRA wherever our respective expertise can reinforce African ownership and deliver practical results.
Excellencies,
AfCRA’s credibility will not be declared at a launch ceremony. It will be earned, rating by rating, over the years ahead. I therefore urge we all work collaboratively to ensure that the ambition behind this continental institution is matched by the quality, independence and credibility of its work.
If we get that right, AfCRA can help us move towards a financial system in which African economies are judged not by perception, but by a fuller and fairer reading of the facts.
Ultimately, our objective is to enable countries to invest in sustainable development while preserving stability, resilience and national ownership.
I thank you, and I thank the Government of Mauritius for providing a home for this important African institution.