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Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu played a role in efforts that led to the establishment of the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA), according to his Special Assistant on Social Media, Dada Olusegun.
AfCRA was formally launched by the African Union in Port Louis, Mauritius, on Wednesday as a continental institution created to provide independent credit assessments of African governments, companies and other institutions.
While the idea of having an African Credit Rating Agency was first proposed in 2017, recent advocacy and push by President Tinubu has now made it a reality.
Since his emergence as President of Nigeria, Africa has taken front row in shaping its own history with the establishment of various institutions including the African Energy Bank which is set to be headquartered in Abuja.
Watch the President advocating for the establishment of Africa’s own rating agency in Kigali recently.
— Daddy D.O🇳🇬 (@DOlusegun) October 8, 2026
Olusegun in a post on X ( formerly Twitter) on Thursday, said the agency was the outcome of years of advocacy for an Africa-owned credit rating institution, noting that the idea was first proposed in 2017.
He said renewed advocacy by Tinubu helped move the initiative towards implementation since he became president.
Olusegun also pointed to the establishment of other continental institutions, including the African Energy Bank, which is expected to be headquartered in Abuja, as part of what he described as efforts to strengthen Africa’s role in shaping its own economic institutions.
“While the idea of having an African Credit Rating Agency was first proposed in 2017, recent advocacy and push by President Tinubu has now made it a reality,” Olusegun said.
He added, “Since he emerged as President of Nigeria, Africa has taken front row in shaping its own history with the establishment of various institutions including the African Energy Bank which is set to be headquartered in Abuja.”
He shared a video of Tinubu advocating for an African credit rating agency at a meeting in Kigali, saying the President had previously made the case in a Financial Times article in February and again at the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali in May.
The African Union said its Assembly endorsed the establishment of AfCRA in 2018, after which the African Peer Review Mechanism was tasked with supporting efforts to turn the proposal into an operational institution.
The AU said AfCRA would complement existing international credit rating agencies rather than replace them, with its assessments expected to draw on African data, expertise and the continent’s economic realities.
The agency will assess the creditworthiness of African sovereigns, sub-sovereigns, companies and institutions.
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Speaking at the launch, AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said AfCRA would help address gaps in the way African economies are assessed and strengthen the continent’s financial architecture.
Youssouf stressed that the agency was not intended to guarantee favourable ratings for African countries. Instead, he said, it would be expected to deliver independent, evidence-based and technically rigorous assessments.
AfCRA is headquartered in Port Louis, with the AU citing Mauritius’ financial services sector, regulatory environment and connectivity with African and international markets as factors behind the choice of location.
