diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 2d6c72a2a..9a29020bb 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.4
 	gitlab.com/hfuss/mux-prometheus v0.0.5
 	golang.org/x/net v0.20.0
+	golang.org/x/sync v0.5.0
 	golang.org/x/text v0.14.0
 	gopkg.in/yaml.v2 v2.4.0
 )
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index cf382953b..5b71904ab 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -237,6 +237,8 @@ golang.org/x/net v0.20.0/go.mod h1:z8BVo6PvndSri0LbOE3hAn0apkU+1YvI6E70E9jsnvY=
 golang.org/x/sync v0.0.0-20190423024810-112230192c58/go.mod h1:RxMgew5VJxzue5/jJTE5uejpjVlOe/izrB70Jof72aM=
 golang.org/x/sync v0.0.0-20220722155255-886fb9371eb4/go.mod h1:RxMgew5VJxzue5/jJTE5uejpjVlOe/izrB70Jof72aM=
 golang.org/x/sync v0.1.0/go.mod h1:RxMgew5VJxzue5/jJTE5uejpjVlOe/izrB70Jof72aM=
+golang.org/x/sync v0.5.0 h1:60k92dhOjHxJkrqnwsfl8KuaHbn/5dl0lUPUklKo3qE=
+golang.org/x/sync v0.5.0/go.mod h1:Czt+wKu1gCyEFDUtn0jG5QVvpJ6rzVqr5aXyt9drQfk=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20190215142949-d0b11bdaac8a/go.mod h1:STP8DvDyc/dI5b8T5hshtkjS+E42TnysNCUPdjciGhY=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20201119102817-f84b799fce68/go.mod h1:h1NjWce9XRLGQEsW7wpKNCjG9DtNlClVuFLEZdDNbEs=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20210615035016-665e8c7367d1/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
diff --git a/go.work.sum b/go.work.sum
index ee356555a..408b4718f 100644
--- a/go.work.sum
+++ b/go.work.sum
@@ -318,6 +318,7 @@ go.mongodb.org/mongo-driver v1.7.5/go.mod h1:VXEWRZ6URJIkUq2SCAyapmhH0ZLRBP+FT4x
 go.opencensus.io v0.24.0/go.mod h1:vNK8G9p7aAivkbmorf4v+7Hgx+Zs0yY+0fOtgBfjQKo=
 go.uber.org/zap v1.21.0/go.mod h1:wjWOCqI0f2ZZrJF/UufIOkiC8ii6tm1iqIsLo76RfJw=
 golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.15.0/go.mod h1:q48ptWNTY5XWf+JNten23lcvHpLJ0ZSxF5ttTHKVCAM=
+golang.org/x/sync v0.5.0 h1:60k92dhOjHxJkrqnwsfl8KuaHbn/5dl0lUPUklKo3qE=
 golang.org/x/sync v0.5.0/go.mod h1:Czt+wKu1gCyEFDUtn0jG5QVvpJ6rzVqr5aXyt9drQfk=
 golang.org/x/xerrors v0.0.0-20220907171357-04be3eba64a2/go.mod h1:K8+ghG5WaK9qNqU5K3HdILfMLy1f3aNYFI/wnl100a8=
 google.golang.org/api v0.153.0/go.mod h1:3qNJX5eOmhiWYc67jRA/3GsDw97UFb5ivv7Y2PrriAY=
diff --git a/internal/tokens/fftokens/fftokens.go b/internal/tokens/fftokens/fftokens.go
index 2f07077b2..935f0c1ec 100644
--- a/internal/tokens/fftokens/fftokens.go
+++ b/internal/tokens/fftokens/fftokens.go
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/hyperledger/firefly/pkg/blockchain"
 	"github.com/hyperledger/firefly/pkg/core"
 	"github.com/hyperledger/firefly/pkg/tokens"
+	"golang.org/x/sync/errgroup"
 )
 
 type ConflictError struct {
@@ -716,16 +717,31 @@ func (ft *FFTokens) handleNamespaceStarted(ctx context.Context, data fftypes.JSO
 	// Make sure any pools that are marked as active in our DB are indeed active
 	namespace := data.GetString("namespace")
 	log.L(ctx).Debugf("Token connector '%s' started namespace '%s'. Ensuring all token pools active.", ft.Name(), namespace)
+
+	g, ctx := errgroup.WithContext(ctx)
+
 	for _, pool := range ft.poolsToActivate[namespace] {
-		if _, err := ft.EnsureTokenPoolActive(ctx, pool); err == nil {
-			log.L(ctx).Debugf("Ensured token pool active '%s'", pool.ID)
-		} else {
-			// Log the error and continue trying to activate pools
-			// At this point we've already started
-			log.L(ctx).Errorf("Error ensuring token pool active '%s': %s", pool.ID, err.Error())
-		}
+		currentPool := pool
+		g.Go(func() error {
+			_, err := ft.EnsureTokenPoolActive(ctx, currentPool)
+			if err == nil {
+				log.L(ctx).Debugf("Ensured token pool active '%s'", currentPool.ID)
+			} else {
+				log.L(ctx).Errorf("Error ensuring token pool active '%s': %s", currentPool.ID, err.Error())
+			}
+
+			return err
+		})
+	}
 
+	// g.Wait waits for all goroutines activating token pools to complete
+	// and returns the first non-nil error returned
+	// by one of the goroutines.
+	if err := g.Wait(); err != nil {
+		// The above handleMessage will retry if errors occur
+		return err
 	}
+
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/tokens/fftokens/fftokens_test.go b/internal/tokens/fftokens/fftokens_test.go
index 886e1d80c..78e234ffd 100644
--- a/internal/tokens/fftokens/fftokens_test.go
+++ b/internal/tokens/fftokens/fftokens_test.go
@@ -1901,7 +1901,7 @@ func TestHandleNamespaceStartedEnsureActiveError(t *testing.T) {
 		httpmock.NewJsonResponderOrPanic(500, fftypes.JSONObject{}))
 
 	_, err := h.handleMessage(context.Background(), "ns1", []byte(`{"event":"started","data":{"namespace": "ns1"}}`))
-	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Error(t, err)
 }
 
 func TestHandlePoolActivated(t *testing.T) {