The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is championing gold tokenization as a transformative solution for Africa’s mining sector, aiming to curb billions lost to smuggling while boosting intra-African trade.
Secretary-General Wamkele Mene unveiled the strategy at the 2025 Mining in Motion Summit, positioning blockchain technology as key to unlocking the continent’s mineral wealth.
Africa produces over 27% of global gold output yet loses an estimated $30 billion annually to undeclared shipments. Mene emphasized that tokenization – converting physical gold into digital assets – could revolutionize the sector by enhancing transparency, improving access to finance, and ensuring compliance with AfCFTA trade rules.
The initiative builds on the recently adopted AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol and follows successful regional pilots in Ghana, South Africa, and the Central African Republic.
“Tokenization offers more than traceability,” Mene stated. “It represents Africa’s path from raw material exporter to value-added trader in global markets.”
The technology enables near-instant cross-border transactions while providing auditable proof of origin – critical for preferential trade under AfCFTA terms. Early adopters like Ghana’s blockchain-based Gold Board tracking system have already demonstrated reduced smuggling rates.
Implementation challenges remain, particularly around harmonizing regulations across Africa’s 54 nations. The AfCFTA Secretariat plans to collaborate with central banks and mining ministries to establish continent-wide standards for digital gold trading.
This includes developing secure custody solutions, anti-money laundering protocols, and rural-digital infrastructure to serve artisanal miners who produce nearly 20% of Africa’s gold.
The push comes as global interest in tokenized commodities grows, with over $2 billion in digital gold assets traded worldwide in 2024.
For Africa, success could mean redirecting billions currently lost to informal channels into formal economies, while creating new financial products backed by the continent’s mineral reserves. As Mene noted, “This isn’t just about modernizing gold trade – it’s about rewriting Africa’s economic narrative in the digital age.”
