France, Oct. 7 -- The ‌opening of the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA), which will be based in Port Louis, Mauritius, comes eight years after the African Union (AU) first endorsed its creation.

"AfCRA complements existing global credit rating agencies by offering a perspective rooted in African data, expertise and realities," the AU said in a statement.

African leaders and finance experts have previously accused Western ratings agencies such as S&P Global Ratings, Moody's Ratings and Fitch Ratings of failing to fairly assess the risk of lending to African countries and of moving too quickly ‌to downgrade them during crises such as conflicts and pandemics.

The agencies reject that criticism, saying they apply the same met...