By: Robert Kwaku Annor
One
Africa Securities Limited has been admitted to the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) Ghana’s Virtual Asset Sandbox, building on its earlier
admission to the Bank of Ghana (BoG) Regulatory Sandbox in January 2026. The
dual sandbox participation marks an important milestone in One Africa
Securities’ efforts to explore the responsible application of emerging
technology within Ghana’s financial markets, with a broader ambition to expand
access to investment opportunities across Africa.
Under
the SEC Virtual Asset Sandbox, One Africa Securities has been admitted to
explore asset tokenisation, bonds within a controlled regulatory environment.
Separately,
One Africa Securities was one of six entities admitted to the Bank of Ghana
Regulatory Sandbox in January 2026 to tokenize treasury bills, bonds and
commodities. Through the programme, participating institutions are contributing
to the validation of proposed regulatory frameworks around the exchange,
custody, administration and issuance of virtual assets.
Together,
the programmes provide One Africa Securities with an opportunity to contribute
practical market insights as Ghana’s regulators develop frameworks for virtual
assets and tokenised financial products.
“This
is an important milestone for One Africa Securities Limited and reflects our
commitment to responsible financial innovation,” said Edward Illiasu, Group
Head of Fixed Income and Director, One Africa Securities Limited. “Our
participation in these regulatory sandboxes allows us to explore how technology
can enhance financial markets while ensuring that innovation develops alongside
regulation, trust and investor protection.”
Building more accessible financial markets
Tokenisation
is increasingly being explored as a way to make the issuance, administration
and accessibility of traditional financial assets more efficient. Globally,
major financial institutions are also exploring its potential. J.P. Morgan,
through its Kinexys platform, has developed infrastructure supporting tokenised
assets, while BlackRock has expanded its participation in tokenised investment
products and blockchain-enabled financial infrastructure.
“Technology
should ultimately solve a real problem,” said Norbert Dziwornu, Group Head of
Innovation, One Africa Markets. “For us, that means reducing friction,
improving the investment experience and enabling more people to participate in
financial markets. We are starting from Ghana, but we are building with the
wider African opportunity in mind. Our approach is to innovate alongside
regulation, not ahead of it.”
Looking ahead – ChainOA
As One Africa Securities advances its work in digital
finance, the public can also look forward to the launch of ChainOA (Chain One
Africa), it’s new digital investment platform designed to make access to
real-world investment opportunities simpler, more seamless and accessible to
millions of Africans, starting with Ghana
Through ChainOA, users will be able to access investment
opportunities across Treasury bills, bonds and commodities from accessible
investment amounts, all through a seamless digital experience designed for the
modern African investor. With its launch across major app stores expected in
September, ChainOA represents the next step in One Africa Securities' mission
to break down traditional barriers to investing starting in Ghana and building
for Africa.
One Africa Securities Limited
One
Africa Securities Limited is licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission
as a broker-dealer and is an authorised Primary Dealer and Bond Market
Specialist in Ghana’s government securities market.
