Kora Gateway Brings Improved Financial Services to Emerging Markets
Kora, the largest blockchain project out of Africa, has launched a new wallet that aims to provide access to low cost financial services to populations that have historically had little to no access to them.
According to the World Bank’s Global Financial Inclusion database, there are currently an estimated two billion un(der)banked people in the world.
“Access to basic facilities such as banking are critical to not only individuals, but to small businesses to secure payments and savings, and to making transactions efficient and effective. When people lack access to a bank account, they lack access to the financial tools such as savings, credit and insurance products that can enable them to break out of the poverty cycle and build a better life for their families” said Dickson Nsofor, CEO and Founder of Kora.
The first step to achieving this vision is the launch of their first product: The Kora Gateway. The Kora Gateway allows users to access various products in the Kora ecosystem like Kora Wallet (live), KoraPay, KoraLending, KoraInsure and KoraPayroll. A key innovation is the Kora Mesh, which can be used by institutions and enterprises to connect to the Kora Network and provide their products and services to a wider market. Native to the Kora ecosystem is the Kora Network Token (KNT) which will be used as a rewards system and unit to pay for transactions on the Kora Network. Currently, KNT holders can securely send, store, and receive their KNT on the Kora Wallet.
Kora plans to launch its next product, KoraPay, by Q4 2018. The app, which will be available on iOS and Android, will boost Kora’s presence in the African and global financial market, providing its users with an efficient and cheaper service than other providers.
“The goal is to tackle cross-border remittances and money transfers between Africa and the world at large,” Nsofor explains. “The industry as it currently stands is ripe for disruption. I’ve personally seen the struggle and difficulty of making essential transactions such as bill payments, sending money home, or even mobile top-ups. If we are to make financial services widely accessible and affordable, we need to fix these problems.”
After successfully raising USD$12 million, investor sentiment is still strong. And for Kora, whose mission is to solve the fundamental problems experienced by billions of people, there is no limit to its potential.
