The challenge of receiving money from abroad is solved on Kora network. Senders can send money via the Kora network with a little cost paid in KNT(Kora Network Token), it reaches the recipient (living in the rural area or anywhere) by SMS or via the internet.
Finance
The three basic needs of man (food, shelter, and clothing) are all made available through finances. As easy as it sounds, it seems financial buoyancy through almost unlimited financial services is restricted to some set of people, and almost one-third of the world remains unbanked or underserved. These unbanked population largely are the ones in developing countries, in rural areas, almost shut out of technological developments. They are far from banks so they cannot get access to any financial service. Banks would have been created in such rural areas, but the cost of running a bank at such great distance to civilization is great. These banks have to pay for worker’s transportation on long distances not to talk of physical movement of money for ATMs which can pose security issues.
The Unbanked
The unbanked cannot get financial services because they cannot be regarded as eligible customers because of lack of proper identification documents. Many of these people are poor and they cannot get loans to service their great dreams because they lack collateral. In Nigeria, many of these rural dwellers who are unbanked are farmers who supply their farm produce to companies in the cities. They have to wait for a long period of time before they get paid for the products sold because they have no bank account. Most of the time they send a representative who travels to the company in the city to collect all the payments then travel back to the village to share the funds with the sellers.
There have been solutions proffered to these challenges but they are inadequate. Some of this solutions are banks, mobile money, Local ad-hoc Networks, blockchain projects. The blockchain could have been a suitable solution but owing to the fact that many of these unbanked people are people who cannot afford a smartphone as most live on less than $2 per day, the blockchain is also inadequate. Many of them lack the basic understanding of how the blockchain operates.
Personal note: I know that this true because I come from a developing country – Nigeria and my father is a farmer.
Cross-Border Transactions for the Unbanked?
Receiving fund from overseas is another challenge that the unbanked has in developing countries. Take for example an unbanked illiterate woman who lives in Nigeria wants to receive money from a son who lives abroad, the current methods of accepting payments in Nigeria, are Money gram, western union, among others. All of these methods take a lot of processing to complete, not to talk of costs or charges on every dollar received.
KORA
Such kind of challenges doesn’t have to exist if there are projects that can adequately solve these challenges. Kora network is a platform where these challenges are tackled and solved properly.
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The Kora Network is built on four layers of infrastructure to provide a low cost, universal access financial services platform accessible via SMS/USSD or via a mobile app, enabled by blockchain technology. By drastically reducing the cost and time required to provide financial services, and drawing a diverse set of stakeholders into an interoperable network, it will unlock the Long Tail of the global economy, benefiting populations most in need and enriching the global economy by unlocking the capital, intellect, and creativity of the underserved.
The kora network does not seek to replace the existing financial service providers, but the platform seeks to engage the existing financial providers on its platform to provide a low cost, universally accessible financial service. This includes everyone, both the banked and unbanked, the ones on the internet and those who are not.
Platform Participants
The participants of the Kora network are the users (anyone willing to get a universally accessible low -cost financial service), financial providers (Banks, Local ad-hoc networks, mobile money, etc.), Agents (those that exchange fiat and physical cash for commissions). All of these participants come together come together to provide a financial service that is universally accessible and at a low cost.
Universal Access
Users of the Kora network are able to enjoy services on any kind of phone. USSD/SMS can be used to make requests or enjoy financial services, there is a web application for those with internet too.
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Transaction history of all users is stored on the blockchain. Those who are without internet enabled phones also have their history stored on the blockchain and it is made available to them when they upgrade their phones to ones that can browse.
Identification
Identification, as it is widely known, is the foundation for any financial service. The Kora network will attach a credibility score to each user in relation to their action on the network and the actions of the users they are connected to. Transaction limits increases as users proof their credibility and as they add more documents for identification.
Low Cost
The Kora network simplifies operations to accommodate new financial providers. Providers can provide services on the network without the cost of establishing and running a financial institution. Transaction speed is fast on the network. Multiple financial providers mean competition and in turn low prices for users.
Use cases
The challenge of receiving money from abroad is solved on Kora network. Senders can send money via the Kora network with a little cost paid in KNT(Kora Network Token), it reaches the recipient (living in the rural area or anywhere) by SMS or via the internet. The recipient uses the fund to pay for bills or simply goes to a local agent who exchanges the fiat to cash by using his or her transaction history or balance as proof of identity.
Instead of long and hectic processes and documents involved to qualify for a loan. Users on Kora network can use their transaction history to qualify for loans.
The kora network will start working with farmers (in rural areas, for example in Nigeria) to ease cash payments from companies who wish to buy their product.
Notes
This project centers on using the blockchain to serve the underserved, by providing financial services to them. It is worthy of an investor’s investment. I recommend this.
Token Details
Kora network had a successful ICO and the token can be traded on uex.com
For more information
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