GoldBod is preparing to launch gold-backed tokenized investment assets in what could become one of Ghana’s most significant financial market innovations, as the state-owned institution seeks to broaden ownership of the country’s mineral wealth and attract investment from Africans both at home and across the diaspora.

Gold has now become the backbone of Ghana’s external sector. Official data show that Ghana earned about US$20 billion from gold exports in 2025, more than double the previous year’s level with the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector contributing approximately US$10.8 billion in export earnings following reforms spearheaded by GoldBod.

The performance has strengthened foreign exchange inflows, supported international reserve accumulation and cemented gold’s position as Ghana’s largest export commodity by far.

Speaking at the EMY Africa, Africa Rising Symposium in London, GoldBod Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi said the proposed tokenized investment assets would “open the way for more Africans to own the mineral wealth of Africa”, describing the initiative as part of a broader effort to retain more value from Ghana’s mineral resources while widening participation in the country’s gold economy.

GoldBod established primarily to formalize Ghana’s gold trade, curb smuggling and improve transparency in the marketing of artisanal gold, is now entering into developing investment products capable of attracting long-term capital into the gold sector.

Rather than viewing gold solely as a commodity for export, GoldBod is seeking to position it as a financial asset that can mobilize investment while strengthening domestic ownership of one of Ghana’s most strategic natural resources.

The ASM sector, which historically operated through fragmented and largely informal channels, has become an increasingly important pillar of Ghana’s mining industry.

GoldBod has previously indicated that reforms introduced since its establishment have increased the volume of gold passing through formal export channels, reduced opportunities for smuggling and improved foreign exchange repatriation into the domestic financial system.

The agency also expects artisanal gold production this year to match or exceed last year’s record performance, underscoring the sector’s growing contribution to economic growth and export earnings.

Against this backdrop, the proposed tokenization initiative appears aimed at addressing a broader structural challenge confronting many resource-rich African economies how to retain more value from natural resources beyond extraction and exports.

Addressing participants at the symposium, the CEO of the Ghana GoldBod, Sammy Gyamfi, argued that Africa has historically exported raw minerals while surrendering the higher-value activities of financing, processing, pricing and innovation to international markets.

According to him, GoldBod is seeking to reverse that trend by creating structures that encourage greater African participation in the ownership and financing of mineral assets.

He said the institution is positioning gold not merely as a commodity extracted for export but as a platform for economic stability, industrialization, employment creation and national development.

The proposal also reflects GoldBod’s broader effort to attract diaspora investment into productive sectors of the economy.

Sammy Gyamfi used the London forum to urge Africans living abroad to move beyond traditional remittance transfers towards long-term investment capable of supporting enterprise development across the continent.

While acknowledging that remittances have sustained millions of African households over the years, he argued that investment—not consumption—is what ultimately creates businesses, expands production capacity and generates employment opportunities.

He identified manufacturing, commercial agriculture, agribusiness, infrastructure, information technology, healthcare, education and value addition as sectors requiring greater diaspora participation.

In that context, the proposed tokenized gold investment product could become one of the vehicles through which GoldBod seeks to connect African investors abroad with Ghana’s rapidly expanding gold industry while encouraging greater local ownership of mineral wealth.

He further argued that GoldBod’s experience demonstrates the importance of institutions in transforming natural resource wealth into economic development.

Beyond regulating gold purchases, he said the agency has helped formalize the gold supply chain, strengthen accountability, improve responsible sourcing and increase opportunities for investment across the value chain.

For now, GoldBod is yet to disclose how the proposed tokenized investment assets will be structured.