Uganda has officially launched its first Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), marking a transformative moment in the country’s financial and industrial landscape. In partnership with Global Settlement Network (GSN) and Diacente Group, the government is rolling out a $5.5 billion tokenized economy, not as a tech experiment, but as a foundational shift toward digitizing real sectors of the economy.
The digital shilling is being piloted on GSN’s permissioned blockchain, with each unit of currency backed by Ugandan treasury bonds. This approach ensures the CBDC is anchored in tangible value, avoiding speculative volatility and reinforcing trust in the system.
Unlike many digital currency pilots focused solely on financial transactions, Uganda’s initiative integrates real economic sectors, including mining, agriculture, renewable energy, and logistics, into the tokenization framework. This positions the CBDC as a tool for economic transformation, not just financial innovation.
At the heart of the rollout is the Karamoja Green Industrial & Special Economic Zone (GISEZ), managed by Diacente Group. The zone is designed to showcase Uganda’s industrial modernization, featuring solar power plants, agro-processing hubs, smart infrastructure, and other strategic assets. These components will be tokenized, allowing for digital representation of physical infrastructure, trade flows, and value chains.
The permissioned blockchain architecture gives the Bank of Uganda and authorized partners control over access, ensuring compliance with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations. Importantly, the CBDC is being designed for access via smartphones and USSD, making it usable even for individuals without advanced devices,an essential step toward inclusive digital finance.
The initiative is aligned with Uganda’s Vision 2040 and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, with bold targets including:
- Over one million jobs created
- Up to $10 billion in annual exports
- Digitisation of key economic sectors
These goals reflect the government’s intent to use digital currency and tokenization as levers for industrial growth, employment, and global competitiveness.
While the pilot is promising, several challenges remain. These include:
- Building technical capacity across institutions
- Ensuring public understanding and trust
- Maintaining equitable access, especially for those without smartphones
- Clarifying regulatory frameworks for digital assets
Nonetheless, Uganda’s CBDC pilot stands out as a real-world test case for how digital currencies can be used to digitise entire economies, not just financial systems. It offers a blueprint for other emerging markets seeking to combine financial innovation with industrial development.
