President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for the establishment of an Africa-owned credit rating agency to address what he described as persistent mispricing of the continent’s risk by global financial markets, arguing that current assessments unfairly inflate borrowing costs for African nations.
In an opinion article published in the Financial Times, Tinubu warned that African countries are paying excessively high interest rates due to flawed external assessments by dominant international credit rating agencies such as Fitch, Moody’s and S&P Global Ratings. He noted that these agencies’ methodologies often fail to reflect local economic realities, contributing to what is known as the “Africa premium” — the gap between perceived and actual economic risk.
According to Tinubu, only three African nations currently hold investment-grade credit ratings despite projections by the International Monetary Fund that Africa will be the world’s fastest-growing region. This disconnect, he said, underscores structural flaws in how sovereign risk on the continent is evaluated.
An Africa-centric credit rating agency, Tinubu argued, would counter the limitations of the “Big Three” by providing on-the-ground, context-driven assessments that better reflect the continent’s economic fundamentals. He suggested that heavy reliance on distant, subjective judgments has led to unjust downgrades and elevated borrowing costs for African states.
The president also cited Nigeria’s recent economic reforms — such as improved data transparency and fiscal adjustments — as examples of how local progress is often overlooked by global raters.
Tinubu’s call comes amid wider debate about African financial sovereignty and efforts to improve access to international capital. Supporters say the proposal could help lower borrowing costs and attract long-term investment if implemented alongside robust data practices and transparent methodologies.
