The African Development Bank proposed a new currency mechanism backed by rare earth metals and minerals mined in Africa, Tanzanian media reported.
According to the media, the concept for the new currency mechanism was developed as a means to tap into Africa's vast reserves of critical minerals, including cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, and certain rare earth metals that are key to the global energy transition and electric vehicles.
Under the African Development Bank's plan, countries on the continent will be able to convert local currencies into the corresponding amount of proven mineral reserves.
According to the bank's statement, such a currency will be stronger than any of the current African currencies and will not depend on the US dollar or the euro.
Local governments will be able to use the money converted into minerals to pay off debts to foreign creditors, the media noted.