In a significant week for East African digital finance, Uganda and Kenya have taken divergent paths to integrate blockchain technology into their economies.
Uganda has launched one of Africa’s most ambitious blockchain initiatives to date, a $5.5 billion real-world asset tokenization project paired with the country’s first central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot.
The new initiative, led by the Global Settlement Network (GSN) and Uganda’s Diacente Group, will bring $5.5 billion worth of physical infrastructure assets on-chain. The tokenized portfolio will span sectors such as food production, mining, renewable energy, and trade.
The rollout includes a pilot of Uganda’s digital shilling, a CBDC backed by Ugandan treasury bonds and deployed on GSN’s permissioned blockchain.
The move comes as neighboring Kenya advances its Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Bill, marking a significant moment for digital finance regulation and infrastructure development across East Africa.
From Kampala to Nairobi: East Africa Accelerates Toward a Regulated Digital Economy
According to GSN co-founder Ryan Kirkley, the initiative represents a major step toward linking blockchain technology with tangible development outcomes.
“We’re building infrastructure that goes beyond theory — a programmable economy grounded in real assets, regulatory collaboration, and mass accessibility,” he said.
The CBDC is designed to operate in a regulated environment and comply with international standards, including Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) protocols.
It will be accessible through smartphones and USSD technology, allowing over 40 million Ugandans to transact using a secure, mobile-first digital currency for the first time.
The partnership supports Uganda’s Vision 2040 and aligns with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, as well as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework.
The Karamoja Green Industrial and Special Economic Zone (GISEZ), managed by Diacente, is at the core of this rollout and has been designated a national flagship under Uganda’s Karamoja Regional Development Plan (2025-2035).
The project is expected to create over one million jobs and could generate up to $10 billion in annual exports, reinforcing Uganda’s position as a regional digital and industrial hub.
Diacente Group Chairman Edgar Agaba added that the partnership “goes beyond infrastructure,” emphasizing that integrating tokenization and CBDCs into Uganda’s economic roadmap will help attract new capital, empower local industries, and drive sustainable growth.
Meanwhile, Kenya is making progress on its own crypto regulation efforts. The country’s National Assembly has advanced the Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Bill (N.A. Bill No. 15 of 2025) to the third reading stage.
