Africa’s new credit agency: why it’s about a lot more than just ratings
Originally published by The Conversation – Articles (AFRICA) — Read the original article →
The new Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) has already generated an important debate. Some analysts have portrayed it as a rival to the three established global rating agencies – Fitch, Moody’s and S&P Global. Others have questioned whether Africa needs another rating agency at all.
But, based on my expertise researching African financial markets and the role of credit rating agencies in particular, I would argue that this framing misses the bigger picture.
The Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) should not be viewed as a challenger attempting to compete head-on with the century old rating agencies. It is rather a new lever for expanding and deepening Africa’s capital markets, broadening credit intelligence and helping redirect capital towards productive investment in infrastructure, energy and manufacturing to create jobs, generate income and grow economic capacity.
