Thursday, February 19, 2026, the Democratic Republic of Congo signed the Institutional Framework Agreement relating to the implementation of AXIS National Program (Asset-Exchange-Impact-Sovereign) and Initiative Goldconnect, integrating the innovative Sovereign Gold Reserve Token mechanism (SGRT).

The Central Bank of the Democratic Republic of Congo (BCC) has formalized the launch of a program for the systematic purchase of a part of the national gold, resulting from artisanal production. A winning bet with a target of 15 tonnes channelled each year by its partner, at cost of a substantial financial effort and a delicate monetary balance.

For the BCC, it is above all about “correcting a major historical anomaly”: the total absence of physical gold in the vaults from a leading producer country.

Governor André Wameso said during the signing of the partnership agreement that “the Central Bank wanted position itself as the main buyer (off-taker) of the gold produced by our artisanal miners through the DRC Gold company”.

The minister in charge, Louis Watum Kabamba, recalled that this Agreement “does not constitute a simple administrative formality, but a major strategic act in the consolidation of the governance of artisanal mining sector”.

He pointed out that the Axis national program and the Goldconnect initiative aim in particular to structure the supply chains for artisanal gold; guarantee the transparency and traceability of flows; facilitate access to mechanisms of innovative financing, without creating public debt or transferring sovereignty; strengthen the integration of small-scale operators in the formal circuit.