•Pic: Denys Denya, Senior Executive Vice President of Afreximbank
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has welcomed the launch of the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA), urging it to develop an independent, Africa-focused methodology that captures the continent’s economic realities and strengthens the credibility of its credit assessments.
Denys Denya, Senior Executive Vice President of Afreximbank, said the agency must establish its own standards rather than replicate external models, while maintaining African ownership and operational independence.
“The rating methodology AfCRA develops must recognise the uniqueness of our environment and its institutional structures. The Agency must set its own standards and not follow those set elsewhere,” Denya said.
He stressed that the agency must maintain its independence and remain wholly owned and controlled by Africans.
“We must all use it, and in return expect a complete assessment of where we (Africa) stand: the strengths the market has ignored, and the weaknesses we still need to fix,” he added.
Afreximbank noted that credit ratings influence investor perceptions, access to finance and borrowing costs for governments, financial institutions and businesses.
It stressed that AfCRA’s credibility would depend on the quality, transparency and independence of its analysis, rather than its willingness to award more favourable ratings to African borrowers.
The bank said AfCRA should complement existing international and regional rating agencies, helping address gaps in credit-rating coverage, particularly among sub-sovereign and local-currency issuers.
Afreximbank congratulated the African Union, the African Peer Review Mechanism and other stakeholders involved in establishing the agency, expressing optimism that it would contribute to more transparent and efficient African financial markets.
