400: Tokenizing Gold for 2.5 Billion People: Mamadou on GIFT and the Future of Real Asset Ownership

EPISODE DESCRIPTION 

I sat down with Mamadou Kwidjim Toure, co-founder of U-Tribe and GIFT (Gold International Fungible Token), to explore one of the most ambitious real-world asset projects I've come across. Mamadou spent decades in banking and early-stage investing across Africa , including in the first GSM projects and mobile payments before M-Pesa , and he turned that experience into a mission: giving anyone on earth access to physical, one-to-one backed gold from as little as 15 cents. We talk about why central banks are quietly buying more physical gold than at any point in the past 40 years, why the gold ETF market is dangerously over-encumbered, and how GIFT's MiCA-regulated token could become the financial safety net for 2.5 billion people across 35 countries. Mamadou also walks me through their quantum-enhanced wallet, their Ubuntu Academy for financial and digital literacy, and their upcoming STO launching in July. This one is packed with insight on the real shift happening in global finance right now. 

DISCLAIMER

Nothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend.

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 CONNECT 

U-Tribe / GIFT: https://utribe.one/

Twitter/X: https://x.com/UtribeOne

Web3 with Sam Kamani Podcast: https://www.web3pod.xyz/

 KEY POINTS WITH TIMESTAMPS 

• [00:01] Sam introduces Mamadou and the GIFT tokenized gold project, noting the recent MiCA license in Europe

• [01:36] Mamadou shares his background: 20+ years in African banking and tech investment, including early GSM and mobile payments before M-Pesa

• [03:46] The origin of GIFT , one milligram of gold accessible from 15 cents on any mobile phone, backed one-to-one by physical gold

• [05:06] The global financial shift: why the world is moving back toward asset-backed monetary systems and away from dollar dominance

• [06:48] Central banks bought over 1,300 tons of gold last year and more physical gold in the past decade than the previous 40 years

• [07:16] Why the gold ETF market is 10–15x over-encumbered and what that means for ordinary investors

• [09:53] How blockchain solves the collateral problem for financial inclusion , instant loans from as little as 10 cents of gold

• [10:42] GIFT holds a MiCA license in Europe and is upgrading to asset reference token status, with 30+ countries and 2.5 billion people in reach within five months

• [13:05] Physical gold is stored in vaults in Zurich, Stuttgart, Copenhagen, Dubai, and Singapore, insured by Lloyds of London and audited on-chain

• [16:30] The quantum-enhanced wallet , one of only four or five in the world , is live on Google Play Store and coming to App Store

• [17:43] Ubuntu Academy inside the wallet: financial literacy, digital literacy, vocational training, and ethical leadership powered by a personalised AI tutor

• [19:29] 10% of transaction fees go toward education and healthcare, including in the mining communities where the gold is extracted

• [23:39] How Mamadou explains RWAs to newcomers: a digital title deed, like a certificate of ownership , no crypto jargon needed

• [26:48] How to onboard: download the app on Google Play or visit utribe.gift.app, complete KYC, and pay via card, wire, mobile money, or voucher

• [28:00] Key Web3 infrastructure shifts: NYSE moving $87 trillion of assets on-chain, DTCC moving on-chain, 130+ nations working on CBDCs

• [30:55] Long-term vision: launching SIFT (Silver International Fungible Token), becoming a tokenization-as-a-service infrastructure provider

• [33:20] Upcoming July STO (Security Token Offering) and tokenized convertible bond to finance gold extraction and fuel growth