GITEX Nigeria launched MINT AFRICA at Landmark Centre in Lagos on Wednesday, establishing a dedicated platform for digital finance, real-world asset tokenization, cross-border payments, and AI-driven financial infrastructure across the continent. The platform, organized by KAOUN International, made its public debut on the final day of GITEX Nigeria 2026, a four-day event spanning Abuja and Lagos held under the patronage of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The event drew more than 1,000 startups and enterprises, more than 300 investors, representatives from more than 40 banking institutions and more than 150 government agencies, and participants from over 25 countries. The Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) served as government sponsors, underscoring federal backing for the initiative at a moment of active digital finance policymaking.

The timing was not accidental. Wednesday also marked the closing deadline for public comment on Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission draft rules for digital and virtual asset operations, proposed in August. The coincidence placed MINT AFRICA's launch at the center of an active regulatory moment: industry players attending the Lagos event were simultaneously navigating a policy window that could reshape how crypto firms operate in Africa's largest economy.

Prior to the launch, KAOUN International had been communicating the platform under the name "FDX by GITEX," describing it as a vehicle for digital finance reform and capital mobilization across Africa. According to BusinessDay Nigeria, which covered the event, the MINT AFRICA branding was formalized at the event itself; Verse Press has not independently verified this against GITEX or KAOUN International press materials.

The platform's agenda covers open banking, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs, digital currencies issued directly by central banks), digital identity, and cross-border settlement infrastructure. Participants included representatives from the Nairobi International Financial Centre in Kenya and the National Bank of Investment in Côte d'Ivoire, signaling ambitions beyond Nigeria's borders.

Lagos Deputy Governor Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat addressed the gathering, making the case for coordinated policy and infrastructure investment. "By aligning banking policy with digital infrastructure, we can deepen financial inclusion, unlock seamless cross-border trade," he said. Henry Amadiegwu, Chief Information Officer at Zenith Bank UK, emphasized the compliance dimension: "AI, automation, and modern infrastructure will be critical to building secure, compliant-by-design ecosystems."

Nigeria's Numbers Explain the Attention

Nigeria ranked sixth globally on Chainalysis's 2025 Crypto Adoption Index, with roughly 22 million Nigerians holding digital assets as of last year and projections pointing toward 27 to 30 million users by the end of 2026. Lagos ranks first in Africa for cryptocurrency adoption and second globally, behind only India. The comparison is instructive: both markets combine high smartphone penetration, large unbanked populations, and strong remittance demand, driving adoption curves that outpace many wealthier economies. Total crypto transaction volume for the 12 months ending June 2024 reached approximately $59 billion. Across Sub-Saharan Africa more broadly, the crypto market grew 52 percent in 2025 to reach $205 billion, making it the third fastest-growing crypto region globally.

The city's fintech ecosystem lends further weight to these figures. Companies including Flutterwave, Paystack, Moniepoint, OPay, and Andela have established Lagos as a center of African financial technology, giving MINT AFRICA an existing base of institutional and commercial relationships to build on.

Stablecoins (digital tokens pegged to fiat currencies, usually the US dollar) dominate Nigerian crypto activity, accounting for approximately 40 percent of all crypto transactions in the country. Around 59 percent of crypto-active Nigerians hold USDT, and according to Breet.io data, up to 95 percent prefer stablecoin-denominated payments over naira-based transactions. Analysts attribute the preference to naira volatility and the practical demands of cross-border commerce.

A Regulatory Squeeze on the Horizon

The SEC's proposed rules, published August 20, set minimum capital requirements for digital asset businesses: roughly $1.5 million for exchanges and custodians, $371,000 for real-world asset tokenization platforms, and $148,000 for other registered crypto service providers. The compliance deadline is June 30, 2027. The rules also propose that foreign stablecoin issuers maintain liquid reserves of 100 to 150 percent of outstanding tokens and face listing controls on Nigerian platforms.

For the large share of Nigerian crypto users who hold USDT, the foreign stablecoin provisions represent a potential friction point for access through regulated venues.

If smaller licensed operators cannot meet the recapitalization requirements by mid-2027, some may exit the formal market entirely, which could redirect retail crypto activity back toward peer-to-peer networks rather than regulated venues.

Nigeria's broader regulatory direction has nonetheless been moving toward credibility. The country was removed from the Financial Action Task Force grey list in October 2025, a designation that had previously complicated partnerships with international financial institutions. The Investments and Securities Act 2025 formally classified digital assets as securities under SEC jurisdiction and, for the first time, permitted Tier 1 banks to work with licensed crypto firms. Smart contracts also gained legal enforceability in 2023 under the Evidence Amendment Act.

What Comes Next

Lagos Blockchain Week opens September 7 and runs through September 12 under the theme "The Intelligent Economy," giving the city a compressed stretch of back-to-back fintech and blockchain activity.

Africa's projected digital payments economy stands at $1.5 trillion by 2030, with West Africa's fintech sector alone expected to generate $65 billion in annual revenues by the same year, according to projections cited at the event.

MINT AFRICA is an institutional platform rather than a protocol or token. No on-chain deployments are associated with it at launch. Its practical impact will depend on whether the cross-border settlement infrastructure and regulatory coordination it promotes translate into workable agreements among African financial regulators, central banks, and private sector operators. The September 3 comment deadline gives Nigeria's SEC a window to incorporate industry feedback before finalizing rules that will define the operational boundaries for everything MINT AFRICA is trying to build.