Under the agreement, the two institutions will conduct a feasibility study to assess the technical, commercial, and regulatory requirements for setting up a gold-backed banking framework, including the possible development of accredited gold refineries, vaulting facilities, and related trading and financial services, with participation from other African countries.
The initiative is intended to formalize Africa’s gold sector, reduce reliance on foreign gold markets, and increase the role of gold within African financial systems, according to the CBE. Officials say it could also support reserve management and cross-border trade on the continent.
The proposed model treats gold as a monetary and banking asset rather than solely a commodity, allowing it to be used in savings, lending, trade settlement, and liquidity management. It would function as a framework for gold-backed financial operations rather than a single physical institution.
CBE Governor Hassan Abdalla said the programme could eventually expand to involve African governments, central banks, and market participants, as part of broader efforts to deepen financial and trade integration across the continent, in line with Egypt's vision.
Afreximbank President George Elombi stated that the initiative aligns with the bank’s push to increase value addition and processing of strategic minerals in Africa, to retain more economic value on the continent and reduce exposure to external shocks.
"The initiative is part of Afreximbank’s mission to ensure Africa’s resources benefit Africans, to create an African Gold Bank that will help us fundamentally alter the way we extract, refine, manage, value, store, and trade our gold resources, with the primary aim of retaining value on the continent," Elombi stated. "By effectively building up the gold stock, as other major economies have done, we enhance the continent’s resilience, minimise vulnerability to external shocks, improve currency stability and convertibility, and create wealth within the continent."
Afreximbank has invested around $41 billion in Egypt to date, backing projects in energy, telecommunications, construction, and manufacturing, according to the bank. Egypt has identified these sectors as priorities under its national economic strategy, which aims to double foreign direct investment’s contribution to GDP to 4.4 percent over the next five years.
Separately, Afreximbank is developing its African Trade Center (AATC) in Egypt’s New Capital, with Egyptian firm Hassan Allam Construction awarded a $250 million contract to build the complex, which will serve as the bank’s global headquarters and a hub for trade facilitation and policy coordination across the continent.
In tandem, Abdalla has been urging Arab central banks to deepen cooperation on strategies to safeguard monetary stability and strengthen fiscal resilience, as mounting regional challenges push policymakers to focus on economic durability, flexible financial systems, and market confidence.
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