General
From High Finance to Financial Inclusion: Mamadou Kwidjim Toure’s Ubuntu Tribe
Mamadou Kwidjim Toure structured deals worth over $25 billion during two decades at KPMG, BNP Paribas, and IBM. Then he left it behind to sell gold tokens for 10 cents each.
His company, Ubuntu Tribe, launched its GIFT Gold token in Singapore on October 1. Each token represents one milligram of gold — like splitting a gold bar into 31,000 digital shares — stored in vaults across Switzerland, Germany, Dubai, and Singapore. The product targets people who can’t meet the minimum investments traditional gold dealers require.
The Career That Revealed the Gap
Toure’s work took him across 26 African markets over 20 years. He watched traditional finance serve corporations and governments while ignoring the populations that needed it most. “Traditional gold investment requires thousands of dollars. That excludes 360 million unbanked adults in Sub-Saharan Africa who need protection from currency devaluation most,” Toure said.
That experience showed him a problem banks wouldn’t solve: millions of people locked out of wealth preservation tools while inflation eroded their savings. Ubuntu Tribe emerged from that gap.
How Swiss Vaults Serve the Unbanked
The model addresses a straightforward problem. Gold has climbed roughly 1,000% since 2000, outpacing most emerging market currencies. But traditional dealers require minimum investments that exclude most Africans from accessing that protection.
Ubuntu Tribe uses blockchain to track fractional ownership of physical gold reserves. “When someone buys our GIFT Gold tokens, they’re not betting on algorithms or market sentiment. They’re buying actual gold stored in Swiss vaults, verified by independent auditors,” Toure explained.
The company maintains a Track-n-Trace system that lets anyone with internet access verify reserves in real time. Toure said Ubuntu Tribe selected partners based on traditional finance credentials. “Everything gets published publicly. We chose partners based on their reputation in traditional finance, not crypto,” he said.
Token holders can request physical gold delivery, though the company expects most to keep their holdings digital. The focus on transparency stems from a string of crypto blowups — projects that claimed backing by real assets but folded once auditors found the vaults empty.
Navigating Fragmented Regulation
Ubuntu Tribe falls under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework—detailed disclosures, reserve requirements, regular audits. But that regulatory footing stops at Europe’s borders. In Nigeria and Kenya, where Ubuntu Tribe sees its main opportunities, the rules look entirely different.
Toure points to this patchwork as a drag on growth. “Unified standards would let us scale faster, reduce costs, and pass those savings to users.”
The Crowded Race to Tokenize Assets
Ubuntu Tribe isn’t the first to tokenize gold. Established players already offer regulated products in most of major markets. Financial institutions and crypto startups both race to digitize commodities, real estate, and other physical assets.
The company’s success in Africa will depend on whether it can secure regulatory approvals in key markets and convince users to trust that tokens genuinely represent gold reserves. The continent has adopted digital finance before — mobile money moved over $1 trillion in 2024, more than Kenya’s entire GDP, by filling gaps banks left open.
Toure declined to speculate on expansion timelines beyond stating a principle. “Any future expansion would need to serve the same fundamental purpose: protecting purchasing power for people who lack access to traditional wealth preservation tools,” he said.
Credentials Meet Mission
The model combines regulatory compliance, verifiable reserves, and fractional ownership to tackle barriers that have kept gold investment out of reach. Currency devaluation continues to erode savings in markets where formal financial services remain scarce.
Toure’s two decades structuring deals across African markets and Ubuntu Tribe’s early regulatory compliance provide advantages that many tokenization projects lack. Whether those credentials can bridge the gap between high finance and financial inclusion will depend on execution in markets that need the solution most.
The man who once moved billions now focuses on 10-cent tokens. The scale changed. The mission — protecting purchasing power for those traditional finance excluded — stayed the same.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A radio station, Wise FM, has been sealed by officials of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA).
The premises of the broadcast media platform, located on Ogabi Street, Meiran, Ile-Iwe Bus Stop, were shut by the state government on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, alongside other establishments across different parts of Lagos State for alleged persistent violations of environmental regulations despite repeated warnings, abatement notices, and opportunities provided for compliance.
In a statement by LASEPA, it was disclosed that the enforcement exercise was carried out in response to various environmental infractions, including noise pollution, air pollution, obstruction of official duties, and failure to comply with its directives.
As regards Wise FM, it was said that it was sealed for noise and air pollution as well as non-compliance with the Agency’s directives.
Another organisation affected, Star-View Terrace, located in Amuwo Odofin, Lagos, was shut down for noise pollution and non-compliance with the agency’s directives, while Premiership Suites, located at Akin Osiyemi Street, Off Allen Avenue, Ikeja, was sealed for non-compliance with the agency’s directives.
Speaking on the enforcement operation, the General Manager of LASEPA, Mr Babatunde Ajayi, reiterated the organisation’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding public health and ensuring a cleaner, safer, and more sustainable environment across Lagos State.
He stressed that both individuals and corporate organisations have a responsibility to comply with environmental laws and regulations, stressing that environmental protection remains a collective duty that requires the cooperation of all stakeholders.
The LASEPA boss warned that the agency would continue to intensify enforcement actions against violators in order to curb environmental nuisances and protect residents from the harmful effects of pollution.
Mr Ajayi urged residents, business owners, and operators of commercial establishments to adopt environmentally responsible practices and cooperate with regulatory authorities in promoting a healthier, cleaner, and more livable Lagos.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Renowned legal practitioner, Mr Mike Ozekhome, has been directed to desist from using the prestigious title of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) for now pending the outcome of disciplinary proceedings against him.
He is being investigated by the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC), a body which looks into complaints against lawyers in Nigeria.
Announcing the suspension of the prominent lawyer’s SAN rank on Thursday, the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Mr Kabir Akanbi, said the disciplinary action was taken at the committee’s 173rd general meeting on Tuesday, June 23, 2026.
Mr Akanbi, who doubles as the Secretary of the LPPC, stated in the statement that the temporary ban is intended to safeguard the integrity, dignity, and prestige of the SAN rank while the matters under review are being considered.
It was explained that the suspension was pursuant to Paragraph 26(6) of the Guidelines for the Conferment of the Rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria and all Matters Pertaining to the Rank, adding that it is tied to disciplinary proceedings currently before the Disciplinary and Ethics Sub-Committee of the LPPC and other related proceedings.
“The LPPC remains committed to upholding the highest standards of professional ethics, integrity, and discipline within the legal profession and to ensuring that the Rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria continues to command public confidence and respect,” a part of the notice disclosed.
It stressed that, “Mike Ozekhome shall refrain from parading himself, presenting himself, or otherwise holding himself out as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria pending the final determination of the disciplinary proceedings.”
The title of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) is the highest honour bestowed upon legal practitioners in the country, recognising excellence and long-standing contributions to the legal profession. The LPPC is the statutory body empowered to award and withdraw the rank.
Mr Ozekhome is one of Nigeria’s famous constitutional lawyers, human rights activists, and public commentators, but lately, his name was mentioned in an alleged forgery in the United Kingdom.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The bill seeking to establish state police in Nigeria was on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, passed by the Senate during a plenary presided over by the Senate President, Mr Godswill Akpabio.
The piece of legislation was passed today after more than two-thirds of the lawmakers in the red chamber of the National Assembly voted in support via a manual voting process involving the raising of hands.
Before the passage at the plenary, the chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the Constitution, Mr Barau Jibrin, presented the panel’s report to his colleagues.
According to him, the bill will transform policing in the country and boost security, as it allows the sub-nationals to create their own policing system.
The bill provides for the Federal Police Service to be headed by the Inspector-General of Police, while the State Police Service will be led by a Commissioner of Police, who will be appointed by the governor of the state, subject to confirmation by the state’s House of Assembly.
To prevent the misuse of state police against political opponents or critics, ensuring that any action taken against such individuals or groups complies with due process and existing laws, the bill prohibits the Commissioner of Police of a state from arresting, detaining, investigating, or deploying force against any critic of the state governor, except in accordance with the law.
After the clauses of the bill were considered at the Committee of the Whole, the bill was passed and will be transmitted to the President for assent into law.
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