The joint venture between Global Settlement and AKIBA will target up to US$1.5 billion in capital commitments for tokenised real-economy projects.
Financial technology firm Global Settlement Holdings (GSH) has acquired a stake in Uganda-based financial services and technology group, AKIBA International Limited, to build a regulated broker-dealer and exchange platform.
The joint venture will target up to US$1.5 billion in capital commitments for tokenisation projects, and will operate under the Bank of Uganda’s Regulatory Sandbox Programme. The acquisition follows accelerating regulatory momentum for digital finance infrastructure in East Africa, with Uganda’s Capital Markets Authority launching its own regulatory sandbox for fintechs in October 2025.
The partnership builds on GSH’s existing work in Uganda with Diacente Group, and AKIBA will serve as the operating entity for deploying digital currency infrastructure, tokenised asset programs, and FX settlement rails.
The joint venture will seek to enable regulated primary issuance and secondary trading of tokenised instruments across key sectors which include tokenised infrastructure projects, special economic zones, mining and mineral value-chain projects, and working-capital solutions.
GSH will provide its blockchain, settlement, and tokenisation technology stack under an exclusive Uganda deployment licence, and it will fund initial technology deployment while leading a multi-phase capital programme.
Ryan Kirkley, Chief Executive Officer of Global Settlement Holdings, said: “Uganda’s regulators are doing something we don’t see often, actively building the framework for tokenised capital markets before the market forces them to. That creates a first-mover window for infrastructure that channels real capital into energy, mining, agriculture and trade finance with proper oversight.”
Chris Kyerere, CEO of AKIBA International, said: “Our shared objective is to build a regulated ecosystem that supports domestic development priorities — connecting local projects to global capital with appropriate oversight, governance, and banking integration.”
The joint venture will participate in the Bank of Uganda’s Regulatory Sandbox Programme with a local bank or another mutually approved licensed banking partner.
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