Own.App, a decentralized social media platform designed for creator ownership, announced a partnership with Ubuntu Tribe, a Web3 company in Africa.
Own.App wants to create a fair and transparent way for creators to grow and monetize on a social network without having to give up freedoms, privacy or other things that social platforms demand today, said Amir Kaltak, CEO and CTO of Own, which operates the Own.App platform using decentralized technology.
Own.App is a creator-first, Web3-native social platform that gives full ownership to users. By combining transparent monetization, direct audience control, and a fair viral algorithm, Own. App is redefining how content is discovered, rewarded, and preserved.
Kaltak thinks of Own.App as new social standard — a chance to reset social media in a way that is far different from the algorithms that prevail on aps like TikTok or YouTube.
“The novelty is it protects the user with a private key so their private data, social graph — the user owns it truly in a technical sense,” Kaltak said. “We don’t have access to the data unless the user gives us permission. We call it Nethernet. It allows private protection and maximum speed and performance to build a social network.”
He said the company has come up with a different kind of social media algorithm.
“In owned, it is an indepndent narrative control system. We call it merit based. It measures true organic performance of content. The better the content is, [the algorithm] assigns a merit score to the content,” Kaltak said. “When it is high, the multipliers are applied higher. You get seen in a lot more feeds. If your content hits the mark, it can within moments dramatically go super viral and end up in many feeds across the network.”
Kaltak added, “If you have merit, you can be like someone on America’s Got Talent in real time. It levels the playing field of the player economy. What you see in Own is a true mirror.
The company opened the Own.App on iOS and Android a couple of months ago. There are 60,000 people on the wait list. The company is noboarding them.
The company will whitelist some tokens. In a beta test, Kaltak said the company had 40% daily active users, 70% weekly active users, and 90% monthly active users with over 60% posting on the app. A larger beta will happened during late August. Monetization will activate at that time
The partnership in Africa
The partnership with Ubuntu Tribe, a pan-African Web3 platform offering inclusive access to gold-backed savings, will help with that goal. As global platforms struggle to fairly reward creators, Own.App and Ubuntu Tribe are launching Africa’s first creator economy integration with GIFT Gold, a stablecoin backed by gold.
Africa’s creator economy is projected to exceed $30 billion by 2027, yet most digital entrepreneurs lack access to stable, cross-border financial tools. This partnership provides a solution and new economic opportunity for Africa’s digital creators on Own. App.
Those creators can now have access to the same monetization opportunities as U.S. creators by earning tips, subscriptions, and, now, loyalty rewards in GIFT Gold, a token backed 1:1 by audited physical gold. The GIFT token will be one way to fairly reward creators through decentralized finance and digital creativity. It will be integrated into the Own wallet, dubbed Own.Wallet.
Combining decentralized social tech and real-world asset savings, the partnership empowers creator monetization and long-term income opportunities.
“This isn’t just another tech partnership, but rather an opportunity to build financial and creative sovereignty,” said Mamadou Kwidjim Toure, CEO of Ubuntu Tribe, in a statement. “With Own. App, we are empowering creators not just to earn, but to build long-term wealth with tools rooted in African values and backed by gold. Ultimately, we’re merging Africa’s legacy of gold with the future of work and building tools for empowerment — not just engagement.”
A new model for wealth in the creator economy
Own.App will deploy its Plug-In Layer in late 2025, allowing GIFT Gold and other Ubuntu Tribe products or services to embed it into the platform. This integration will give the Ubuntu Tribe, GIFT Gold community and all users on Own.App a seamless way to access RWA financial opportunities on the platform.
Own.App and Ubuntu Tribe are delivering a real-world alternative in an era where creators are often at the mercy of obscure algorithms and inflation-prone currencies. The GIFT Gold token functions as both a medium of exchange and a store of value, allowing creators to participate in the digital economy without exposure to crypto volatility or fiat depreciation.
“Own. App exists to return power to the creators,” said Katia Zaitsev, COO and Co-founder at Own. App. “Ubuntu Tribe brings an additional financial layer that aligns with our mission, enabling creators the opportunity to save in gold, across borders, without the volatility of crypto or fiat.”
The pilot will launch with 1,000 early creators in Kenya, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire, with the goal of scaling to 100,000 creators across Africa and the diaspora by 2026. The integration is currently being tested with a select group of African creators.
Own.App and Ubuntu will co-host an in-person activation event in Q4 2025, featuring workshops, live demos, and policy roundtables on decentralized finance and creative rights.
Ubuntu Tribe is a decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem built in Africa and designed for the world. Its flagship token, GIFT Gold, is a digital gold certificate backed 1:1 by audited gold reserves and accessible via the Utribe Wallet — enabling anyone to save, transact, and build wealth with dignity.
The company
Own.App has a core team of 25 people, and it has raised $5.8 million to date in a pressed round (valued at $25 million) and a seed round (valued at $35 million). A new round is in the works now. Advisers include Michael Terpin, a crypto veteran, and Jamie Rogzinski, founder of Wall Street Bets.
Besides Kaltak, Katia Zaitsev is the COO and Sarah Mick is the CCO. Kaltak said the company will not monetize user data, as he believes creators will be monetize thanks to the power of the social platform’s tech, which allows people to tip creators. The company will pay out 80% of tips to creators, keeping 20% for itself. On top of that, the company will buy its own token on the market at market price and then distribute the token to the creators, based on their engagement success.
“We monetize in every country, in emerging markets. So they will be connected to the global creative economy. It is a side effect of the tokenomics on creating level playing. We pay out the cash part and the token part,” he said. “If you get 10 million views, compared to someone in U.S., for the same views, you get paid same number of tokens at the same value. That’s incredible as a way to make a living at a high level. That’s an incentive for them to join.”
The view from Ubuntu Tribe
I asked Ubuntu Tribe why it is supporting Own.App. Kwidjim Toure said in a message to me, “At Ubuntu Tribe, we back revolutions—not just companies. Own.App is building a creator economy for the next billion people, where digital identity, ownership and wealth are no longer reserved for the privileged few. That’s a mission we don’t just support—we embody it.”
Kwidjim Toure added, “We see in Own.App the missing piece of the Web3 puzzle in Africa and the diaspora: a platform where creators earn, communities co-own, and reputation is finally on-chain and portable. It’s what TikTok and Instagram could never be—because it’s built from the ground up for a decentralized world.”
Kwidjim Toure said the Own vision connects perfectly with Ubuntu Tribe’s.
“GIFT Gold, our gold-backed digital asset, is here to bring real-world, inflation-resistant value into the hands of everyday creators. With Own.App, we’re bridging culture and capital, allowing creators to monetize their influence, and store it in gold—from their phone, on their terms,” Kwidjim Toure said. “This is more than an investment. It’s a strategic alliance to rewrite the rules of who owns what in the digital age.”
Asked what Ubuntu brings to the relationship, Kwidjim Toure said, “We bring the infrastructure, the trust, and the tribe. GIFT Gold is more than a token—it’s a lifeline. It offers creators in volatile economies the ability to save in gold, earn in gold, and build in gold. It’s 100% backed by physical reserves, fully redeemable, and integrated into our Utribe mobile wallet—already live across Africa.”
Through its ambassador network, mobile money rails, and growing presence in Kenya, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire and the diaspora, Ubuntu Tribe could open up a massive new frontier for Own.App—one where millions are ready to leapfrog Web2 and enter the ownership economy, Kwidjim Toure said.
Kwidjim Toure also said it brings legitimacy.
“As members of the Milken Institute’s Africa Leaders Council and partners in sovereign-level tokenization deals, Ubuntu Tribe brings deep relationships with governments, miners, central banks, and communities. We help Own.App go further, faster, with credibility,” Kwidjim Toure said.
Kwidjim Toure said the Ubuntu Tribe will plug GIFT Gold directly into the Own.App creator economy—so that likes, claps and influence convert into real, sovereign wealth. It will also launch GIFT Gold bounties, creator quests, and co-branded campaigns that educate and activate African and diaspora youth into Web3. And it will provide full backend support: wallets, on/off-ramps (USSD, M-Pesa, MoMo), liquidity, KYC/AML, and infrastructure scale.
In return, Own.App will be the culture engine of Ubuntu Tribe—where values of shared prosperity and digital sovereignty come to life in stories, music, memes, and movements. Own.App will help GIFT Gold reach millions through creator communities, peer-to-peer challenges, and viral quests. And it will onboard a new generation of mobile-first, creator-driven users into the Ubuntu Tribe ecosystem—not just as users, but as co-builders.