Sovereign Strategic Partnership Announced
Above Food Ingredients Inc. (NASDAQ: ABVE) announced a significant sovereign strategic partnership involving its merger partner Palm Global Technologies and its subsidiary Palm Promax Investments LLC (PPI). The President's Office of Burkina Faso, in coordination with the Promotion and Investment Center for Burkina Faso and Partners (CPIB), has formally agreed to a joint venture. This venture includes the adoption of PPI's gold- and mineral-backed stablecoin as the nation's digital currency, marking a historic inflection point in Burkina Faso's financial evolution.
As part of this initiative, the government has pledged up to $8 trillion of previously untapped gold and mineral assets to anchor the country's stablecoin and catalyze long-term economic transformation. The partnership is being formally announced at the UAE 2030 National Vision event in Abu Dhabi, attended by eminent leaders and dignitaries from both the United Arab Emirates and Burkina Faso, underscoring the strategic importance of this collaboration.
Unlocking Mineral Wealth Through Tokenization
This strategic partnership will leverage PPI's advanced tokenization technologies to unlock and mobilize the immense mineral wealth of Burkina Faso, ushering in a new era of sovereign digital innovation and inclusive economic growth. In a historic move, the Government of Burkina Faso will pledge up to $8 trillion in gold and mineral-based assets, including vast in-ground reserves that have long remained unrecognized by global financial systems.
For decades, these resources have been undervalued and excluded from international markets due to structural barriers in valuation, infrastructure, and access. Now, for the first time, Burkina Faso's mineral wealth will be transparently quantified, monetized, and mobilized through blockchain-based financial instruments. This bold initiative marks a turning point: a declaration that the nation's true economic value can no longer be overlooked. With this commitment, Burkina Faso becomes the first African nation to formally integrate a resource-backed digital currency into its national financial architecture, leveraging its natural wealth as a catalyst for sovereign empowerment, inclusive growth, and global financial participation.
Joint Venture Structure and Development Initiatives
Headquartered in Abu Dhabi under the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) framework, the joint venture will channel all investments through Promax Burkina Faso SEM (Promax BF SEM) to facilitate the tokenization of Burkina Faso's untapped natural resources. These blockchain-backed financial instruments will anchor a series of transformative development initiatives across key sectors, including:
- •Mining of minerals, metals, and precious stones
- •Development of infrastructure, including energy and transportation
- •Establishment of economic zones and technology transfer hubs
- •Modernization of agriculture and commodity trading
- •Enhancements in healthcare, education, and security, and humanitarian efforts
This agreement marks a pivotal moment in Burkina Faso's economic trajectory. By transparently quantifying and monetizing its natural assets, the nation is positioning itself as a global leader in sovereign empowerment and digital finance, redefining its role in the international economic landscape.
Leadership Perspectives
H.E. Soumane Kassamba, Advisor of Investment and International Relations to His Excellency Ibrahim Traoré, President of Burkina Faso and PDG of CPIB, and Head of Arab African Council the Special Consultive of United Nations in Burkina Faso, commented: "This agreement marks a pivotal moment for Burkina Faso. For the first time, we are not merely participants in the global economy - we are architects of our own economic destiny. By tokenizing our vast mineral wealth, we are unlocking its true value and making it accessible to the world in a transparent, secure, and sovereign manner. This initiative will catalyze unprecedented investment, generate employment, and finance critical infrastructure across energy, healthcare, and education. It lays the foundation for a new era of prosperity - one built on innovation, accountability, and national empowerment. Our partnership with Palm Promax Investments is transformative. It reflects our ambition to follow the visionary path of the United Arab Emirates, whose extraordinary rise - from the foresight of its founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, to its global leadership today - stands as a testament to what is possible through bold vision, strategic collaboration, and sustainable development."
His Excellency Louai Mohamed Ali, Group President of Promax United and preferred partner, commented: "Burkina Faso's bold leadership marks the dawn of a financial renaissance - not only across Africa, but globally. By embracing blockchain technology and anchoring it to their substantial gold reserves, they have set a powerful precedent for sovereign innovation, economic empowerment, and global financial integration. This is not an isolated milestone - it is the first step in a broader continental movement. We are in advanced discussions with numerous African nations under the same framework, each seeking to unlock trade, infrastructure financing, and macroeconomic stability through transparent, asset-backed digital currencies. As this framework scales, we anticipate participating sovereign nations will experience a significant reduction in currency volatility, enhanced fiscal transparency, and renewed investor confidence. Most importantly, we foresee meaningful wealth creation for their citizens and a transformation in intra-African and global trade - driven by a unified, stable digital currency that reflects the true value of Africa's resources and ambition."
His Excellency Muayad Kafesha, Vice Chairman of Palm Promax Investments, commented: "The decision by Promax BF SEM and CPIB to launch this joint venture anchored by Burkina Faso's gold reserves is a bold declaration of vision, sovereignty, and belief in the future. It reflects our shared conviction that technology must serve humanity - by making resource wealth transparent, measurable, and transformative. This is not merely a financial innovation; it is a blueprint for inclusive prosperity. None of this would be possible without the extraordinary business environment of the United Arab Emirates. The gravitas, global reputation, and operational excellence the UAE provides to companies like ours is truly unmatched. We are deeply honored to be headquartered here. When we founded Palm Promax, our ambition was clear: to build the JPMorgan of digital finance - on a global scale. And we remain convinced that the UAE is the only place in the world where that vision can be fully realized."
About Above Food Ingredients Inc.
Above Food Ingredients Inc. (NASDAQ: ABVE) is an agricultural and food technology company whose vision is to create a healthier world — breaking the cycle of world hunger, one seed, one field, and one bite at a time. Above's robust chain of custody of plant proteins and proprietary seed development capabilities, leverage the power of artificial intelligence-driven genomics and agronomy, and together with Palm's financial technologies will help to break the global cycle of hunger.
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Additional Information
INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF ABOVE FOOD ARE URGED TO READ THE DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC, CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT ABOVE FOOD. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Above Food through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Above Food are also available free of charge on Above Food's website at https://abovefood.com or by contacting Above Food's Investor Relations Department at 2305 Victoria Ave #002, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, S4P 0S7.