Africa is home to some of the world’s richest mineral deposits, holding an estimated 30% of global mineral reserves and nearly 40% of the planet’s gold. Yet for decades, extractive economic models shaped during the colonial era have ensured that much of this wealth benefits foreign investors and a narrow local elite, while ordinary Africans remain excluded. Against this backdrop, Mamadou Toure is attempting something radically different: using blockchain technology to democratise access to gold investment across the continent.
As founder and chief executive of Ubuntu Tribe, Toure is pioneering a system that allows Africans to buy fractional ownership of physical gold through tradable digital tokens. His vision challenges long-standing barriers to investment and seeks to transform how Africans store value, hedge against inflation, and participate in global markets.
Democratising Access to Gold Through Blockchain
At the heart of Ubuntu Tribe’s model is the idea of tokenisation. Blockchain technology, best known as the foundation of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, allows real-world assets to be represented digitally on a secure, decentralised ledger.
“Today with blockchain you can tokenise an asset, meaning issue a certificate of ownership of this asset,” Toure explains. Ubuntu Tribe has created a digital token called $GIFT, short for Gold International Fungible Token. Each $GIFT represents exactly one milligram of physical gold and is backed on a one-to-one basis by real gold stored in secure vaults.
The physical gold remains in international storage locations such as Zurich, Stuttgart, Copenhagen, and Dubai. What changes hands on the blockchain is the digital certificate of ownership. This structure allows investors in Africa to own a portion of gold stored thousands of kilometres away, without needing to handle or transport the metal themselves.
Because each token represents just one milligram of gold, the barrier to entry is extremely low. Investors can gain exposure for as little as 10 US cents, making gold investment accessible to millions who would otherwise be locked out by high minimum purchase requirements.
Building a Pan-African Investment Gateway
Ubuntu Tribe has worked closely with local fintech firms and mobile money operators to ensure seamless integration with African financial ecosystems. Users can move between local currencies, mobile money, cryptocurrencies, and tokenised gold through a single digital wallet.
Since launching in late 2023, $GIFT has recorded more than $100 million in trading volume across exchanges, according to Toure. The platform serves over 30,000 customers, with more than 10,000 wallet downloads to date. These early figures suggest strong demand for alternative savings and investment tools across the continent.
Toure emphasises that compliance and regulation have been central to the company’s strategy. “We took two years to build a robust, globally competitive, compliant system,” he says. Ubuntu Tribe is fully regulated in Europe and is seeking regulatory approval in key African markets such as Kenya, as well as in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Hedging Against Inflation and Currency Depreciation
A major driver of interest in tokenised gold is Africa’s ongoing struggle with currency depreciation. Over recent years, currencies such as the Nigerian naira, Ghanaian cedi, and Egyptian pound have lost significant value, eroding the savings of households and businesses alike.
Gold has historically served as a hedge against inflation, and its performance over the past two decades has reinforced that reputation. Since 2000, gold has gained more than 1,300% against the US dollar. In the past five years alone, it has surged nearly 800% against the naira.
Toure argues that this trend highlights a fundamental injustice. People can work hard, save diligently, and still see the value of their savings disappear simply because of where they live and the currency they use. By enabling easy access to gold, Ubuntu Tribe aims to help Africans preserve purchasing power and protect the fruits of their labour.
Looking ahead, the company plans significant expansion. In 2026, Toure says Ubuntu Tribe will add between $1 billion and $1.2 billion worth of gold to the system to meet growing demand.
Understanding the Risks
Despite gold’s strong performance, Toure is careful to stress that no investment is without risk. Gold prices can fluctuate, and past gains do not guarantee future returns. Analysts remain broadly optimistic, with JP Morgan Global Research projecting prices of around $5,400 an ounce by the end of 2027, but market corrections are inevitable.
To help users manage these risks, Ubuntu Tribe has embedded diversification and education tools into its wallet. Users can access other digital assets, including Bitcoin and a range of cryptocurrencies, allowing them to spread risk rather than concentrating solely on gold.
Education is another cornerstone of the platform. Through the Ubuntu Academy, the company provides learning resources for users with limited financial or crypto experience. An AI-powered assistant delivers bite-sized, conversational guidance on topics such as savings, risk, gold markets, and tokenisation, tailored to each user’s context.
“Our game is not just to make people rich,” Toure says. “It is to create a generation of well-informed and well-prepared citizens who can navigate the risks and opportunities of investment.”
Institutional Interest and Cross-Border Innovation
While retail users have driven early adoption, Toure believes the real growth will come from businesses, corporates, and institutional investors. Many companies are exploring tokenised gold as a way to hedge against currency risk, strengthen balance sheets, and improve financial resilience.
Institutional investors, he notes, are particularly attracted by the platform’s regulatory compliance and auditability. The assurance that each token is backed by real, audited gold reduces regulatory and counterparty risks.
In December, Ubuntu Tribe announced a partnership with Global Settlement Network to overhaul Africa–EU settlement systems. The collaboration aims to cut transfer times from weeks to seconds by using tokenised gold as a settlement asset, reducing reliance on costly dollar-based correspondent banking.
The roadmap includes a 12-month pilot focused on gold traceability and a cross-border foreign exchange corridor, followed by programmable gold tokens, stablecoin FX pools, and potential integration with government and central bank systems by 2028.
From Corporate Finance to Entrepreneurship
Before launching Ubuntu Tribe, Toure spent more than 20 years in senior finance roles. His career included positions at KPMG, BNP Paribas, the International Finance Corporation, and General Electric, where he served as managing director for investments and project finance in sub-Saharan Africa.
Leaving such a stable and prestigious career was not easy. “Outside your comfort zone is where the magic happens,” he says. Toure felt that the existing financial system had reached its limits and was failing Africa. Blockchain, in his view, offered a chance to build something fundamentally different.
Rethinking Wealth in Africa
Toure believes tokenisation could eventually extend beyond gold to other natural resources, helping Africa move past GDP as the primary measure of economic strength. GDP, he argues, reflects cash flows in fiat currencies that Africans often do not control and that can lose value rapidly.
“There is a contrast between GDP, which is cash value, and wealth, which is asset value,” he says. “Africa is not poor, just illiquid.”
Challenging entrenched systems has not been easy. Toure admits that resistance from those who benefit from the status quo has been real, even if often unspoken. Yet he remains convinced that blockchain-enabled asset ownership can help rewrite Africa’s financial rulebook, giving millions access to the wealth beneath their feet.
