President Bola Tinubu has welcomed the African Union’s announcement that the African Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) will officially launch on October 7.

Tinubu said the establishment of AfCRA represents an important step towards building African financial institutions capable of understanding the continent’s economies and assessing its risks more accurately.

The president recalled that he had advocated for an African credit rating agency in February in an article published by the Financial Times and reiterated the call in May at the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda.

According to him, Africa is not seeking favourable credit ratings but fair assessments based on the continent’s economic fundamentals and ongoing reforms.

“Africa is not asking for favourable ratings. We are asking for fair ratings, grounded in our fundamentals and in the reforms our economies are actually carrying out,” Tinubu said.

He, however, stressed that AfCRA must earn the confidence of global investors, noting that its credibility would depend largely on its independence and the rigour of its assessments.

“I look forward to October 7,” the president added.