By Semafor Africa
Photos: YouTube|Wikimedia Commons
The African Union today launches the continent’s first pan-African credit rating agency, which regional leaders hope will redress decades of what they say has been unfairly high borrowing costs.
The launch of the Africa Credit Rating Agency is part of a wider push by developing countries, at the G20 and the UN, to change how global finance prices the risk of investing: South Africa used its 2025 G20 presidency to put borrowing costs on the agenda.
Only three African sovereigns hold investment grade ratings, 13 are rated at very high risk or in default, and 23 have no rating from the big agencies, which cuts them from international bond markets.
The AU says this is a key reason why the continent’s external debt servicing costs climbed from roughly $60 billion in 2010 to more than $160 billion in 2024.
