The planned launch of the Africa Credit Rating Agency, AfCRA, could mark an important step for Nigeria and the wider African financial system, accountant and financial expert Professor Godwin Oyedokun said. The proposed agency is expected to compete with established global credit-rating firms Moody’s, S&P and Fitch.
The initiative is gaining urgency as external borrowing across Africa continues to rise. African countries’ external debt was estimated at about $1.93 trillion in 2025, while Nigeria’s external debt stood at $51.9 billion and its total public debt reached N166 trillion in the first quarter of 2026.
Quick facts
- AfCRA is being positioned as an African alternative to Moody’s, S&P and Fitch.
- African external debt was approximately $1.93 trillion in 2025.
- Nigeria’s external debt stock was $51.9 billion.
- Nigeria’s overall debt rose to N166 trillion in the first quarter of 2026.
- AfCRA’s credibility, transparency and political independence will be central to its effectiveness.
Oyedokun said AfCRA could reduce Africa’s reliance on traditional international rating agencies by offering assessments that more accurately account for the continent’s economic conditions. Such a framework could also help expand Nigeria’s domestic bond market and build local capacity in credit analysis.
For Nigeria, an additional ratings provider could widen access to financing, provide another independent view of government and corporate credit quality, and potentially lower the risk premium investors attach to African assets, he said. Better investor information and stronger local analytical expertise could be further benefits.
However, Oyedokun cautioned that the agency’s value would rest on whether markets see it as genuinely independent. He said AfCRA must not be created simply to grant African governments more favourable ratings.
Its methodology should be open to scrutiny, judgments should be backed by evidence, and rating decisions must be insulated from political pressure, he said. Without those safeguards, the agency would struggle to win investor confidence.
Nigeria should regard AfCRA not merely as a challenger to Moody’s, S&P and Fitch, but as a way to increase competition and improve the quality of financial intelligence available to markets, Oyedokun said. He added that Nigeria should maintain engagement with the established global firms while supporting AfCRA as another credible assessment channel.
The ultimate objective should not be to secure higher ratings, he said, but to develop an African ratings institution whose conclusions are trusted by investors.
