Towards an African common currency: lessons from the dollar, the euro and the digital era

Towards an African common currency: lessons from the dollar, the euro and the digital era.

Author: Ken Alabi, Member of the Club of Rome and Member of the TóróNet Association

Published: 2026

An African common currency could boost intra-African trade, cut the cost of cross-border payments and give African economies more control over their money, argues Ken Alabi in this paper.

The paper sets out a proposal for a publicly issued African common currency that would work alongside national currencies rather than replace them. Alabi draws on lessons from the US dollar, the euro, the CFA franc and the emerging digital-currency order to propose a step-by-step architecture for African monetary integration.

The paper also connects with The Fifth Element’s thread, Reconciling worldviews across cultures, by inviting reflection on how economic systems express ideas about value, cooperation and institutional power, and how African countries can develop monetary arrangements suited to their own economies and priorities.

Continue reading on The Fifth Element’s site with a link to download the paper: Towards an African common currency: lessons from the dollar, the euro and the digital era - Club of Rome | The Fifth Element