Bahamian-Kenyan tech startup Raise has partnered with Kenyan corporate law firm Anjarwall & Khanna (A&K) to establish the first security token framework on the African continent. The two companies plan to work with the African Digital Asset Framework (ADAF) of which Raise was a founding member.

It seems that security tokens are finally coming to Africa. According to a press release, Kenyan-based projects Raise and A&K will be partnering to establish a security token framework. The goal will be to create contract templates, legal definitions, outlines for tokenized security offerings, and general standards for the space. These will apply to tokenized property ownerships, shares, ebts, commodities, fine art, and insurance.

The newly-created framework will be in line with the African Digital Asset Framework (ADAF) , established just last month of which Raise was a founding member of.

The partnership was first announced by Raise CEO Marvin Coleby at the Business for Africa Forum in Cairo, Egypt last week. Coleby himself is a securities lawyer and a noted authority on the growing tokenized security space. As he told the crowd in Cairo:

“There is a need for efforts at self-regulation to create frameworks that educate law firms, policymakers and entrepreneurs. Clear frameworks for digital securities can unleash innovation in the security token space and enable SME financing and liquidity for private markets on an unprecedented scale.”

The reason for the partnership with A&K is that Raise would now be able to work with a top-tier pool of talent as part of the African Legal Network (ALN) also founded by A&K.

Raise is thus joining a global trend of many different companies trying to establish their own security token standards and platforms, like Polymath and TokenSoft.

About Raise

Raise formed this year to simplify company ownership. It is among the first African companies specializing in blockchain-based securities. They created their platform to make digitizing company assets and equity simple.

About A&K

A&K was named the “African Law Firm of the Year” in 2017 for the third time in a row. Ranked first in Kenya, their legal network connects top-tier law firms to clients services a regional population of some 700 million people.

Can security tokens jumpstart Africa’s innovative digital economy? What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.

Image courtesy of Blockchain for Africa.