SENTINEL ($SENT) Litepaper: The Governance Token for Africa Railways
Fee-Sharing, Proof-of-Safety Rewards & Infrastructure Investment
Version 2.0 | January 2026
Abstract
$SENT (SENTINEL) is the governance token of Africa Railways, providing exposure to blockchain-verified railway signaling infrastructure across SADC regional corridors. While AFC (Africoin) serves as the settlement layer for cross-border freight and passenger transactions, $SENT captures operational value through platform fees, governance rights, and performance-based incentive distribution.
This litepaper outlines the economic model, utility, and institutional investment thesis for $SENT.
1. The Problem
1.1 Railway Signaling and Interoperability Crisis
African railways face critical operational infrastructure challenges:
- Signaling Fragmentation: Incompatible systems prevent multi-operator "Open Access" models (TAZARA 30-year concession requirement)
- Cross-Border Friction: 48-72 hour border crossing times due to manual customs and payment reconciliation
- Data Opacity: No real-time track occupancy verification for collision prevention
- Maintenance Inefficiency: Manual reporting leads to 40%+ equipment downtime
- Investment Risk: Development partners (EU, AfDB, World Bank) lack transparent accountability mechanisms
1.2 Infrastructure Finance Opportunity
Despite Africa's $847B infrastructure pipeline, institutional investors lack direct exposure to railway operational modernization:
- Traditional railway concessions require $50M+ minimum commitments with 10-30 year lockups
- Infrastructure bonds provide debt exposure only, no operational upside
- No liquid instruments tied to SADC regional integration performance metrics
- Development finance institutions seek transparent impact measurement tools
$SENT provides liquid exposure to railway operational efficiency gains through blockchain-verified performance data.
2. The Solution: Africa Railways Platform
2.1 Blockchain-Verified Signaling Infrastructure (Operational)
Africa Railways has deployed a blockchain-verified data layer for railway signaling interoperability:
- Live on TAZARA: Zambia-Tanzania railway (1,860 km) with Mukuba Service integration
- 2,000+ Track Workers: GPS-tagged infrastructure condition reporting via mobile interface
- Sui Blockchain: 866 TPS, sub-second finality for track occupancy verification
- ZRL Pilot Program: €50M EU Railway Sector Support Programme signaling modernization integration
2.2 How $SENT Captures Operational Value
Freight/Passenger Settlement via AFC
→ 2% platform fee
→ 50% to $SENT governance participants
→ 50% to treasury (protocol reserves at 1.91% APY)
Example:
- 5M tons freight + 1M passenger tickets per month
- $20M monthly settlement volume
- $400K monthly operational fees (2%)
- $200K distributed to $SENT governance participants
- $2.4M annual operational exposure
As the network expands across LAPSSET, Lobito, and SADC corridors, operational scale increases proportionally.