Africa Digital Assets (ADA) has announced the pre-launch of the Kenya Token and opened its Africa hub at Mwanzo Gardens in Nairobi, marking a new phase in its efforts to expand access to digital finance across the continent.
The announcement follows the pre-launch of the Namibia Token in Windhoek on October 5, 2026. Both initiatives are designed to give more Africans an opportunity to participate in digital asset markets while promoting an approach to finance that prioritises people living in poverty.
ADA founder Professor Fredrick Onyango Ogola said the initiative was founded on the principle that wealth generated in Africa should create greater opportunities for Africans.
“First and foremost, Africans’ wealth should work for Africans, and that includes those most in need,” Ogola said.
He said tokenisation could give ordinary people greater opportunities to participate in the ownership and value of assets produced on the continent, adding that ethical considerations should guide the development of digital finance.
Targeting financial inclusion
The Kenya Token is designed to widen participation in financial markets by allowing users to engage with digital assets through their mobile phones.
ADA cited Kenya’s extensive mobile money ecosystem as evidence of the opportunity to expand participation beyond payments. Kenyans moved approximately US$321 billion through M-PESA last year, while about 84,000 of Safaricom’s roughly 33 million M-PESA users actively traded shares through the application.
The initiative seeks to address this gap by providing a digital asset priced at US$1 per token.
Under ADA’s proposed revenue model, 70 per cent of revenue will fund token buybacks held in a 30-year vault, while 30 per cent will be distributed to token holders as staking rewards. The organisation also intends to direct funds towards projects in the real economy, with five per cent set aside for establishing a university to train African blockchain engineers.
The project draws on Catholic social teaching, particularly the principle of giving priority to the needs of the poor in economic decisions and institutional development.
This approach was also central to the Africa Digital Asset Summit 2026, held on April 29 and 30 at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi under the theme of ethical stewardship for the love of the poor.
Regional expansion
ADA’s expansion into Namibia is intended to support greater local participation in the country’s natural resource wealth and infrastructure development.
Although Namibia has a population of approximately three million, its ports and transport corridors serve several neighbouring countries and a regional market exceeding 300 million people.
ADA has identified fuel storage, roads, energy, water systems and port expansion as potential areas for investment, alongside opportunities associated with the country’s recent oil discoveries.
The organisation also sees potential in tokenising minerals, renewable energy and trade infrastructure along the Walvis Bay-Windhoek-Cape Town corridor.
“Namibia can become Southern Africa’s ethical tokenization gateway, creating opportunities for Namibians to participate in, own, and benefit from the wealth generated by their country,” Ogola said.
Call for regulatory review
As Kenya transitions towards licensing virtual asset service providers, ADA is calling for an approximately eight-month suspension of implementation, proposing August 2027 as an alternative timeline.
Ogola argues that regulators should first assess how digital asset markets operate locally and expand public understanding of the technology before fully implementing the regulatory framework.
“Traffic should come before traffic lights,” he said, calling for greater emphasis on financial literacy alongside regulation.
ADA proposes collaboration among regulators, financial institutions, civil society, religious organisations and educators to develop governance approaches informed by local market conditions.
Its Africa Digital Assets Academy offers an 11-course programme covering digital assets, fraud prevention and safe participation, with introductory courses available free of charge.
Public registration
ADA has opened its whitelist and invited interested participants to submit non-binding letters of interest indicating the number of tokens they intend to purchase at US$1 each. Those who register will receive a link to the private sale.
Public sales are scheduled for December 16 to 25, 2026.
Interested participants can register at https://www.catholictoken.com/.
