Kora, a new Nigerian blockchain startup, is utilising the blockchain to enable cross-border money transfers in Africa.

Dickson Nsofor, founder and CEO of Kora, was moved to develop the network while working in the United States as it was hard for him to transfer money back to Nigeria while there. Nsofor said: “It was faster to drive cash to Ghana than to transfer money using a digital channel. And I thought to solve this problem.”

Using the blockchain, the Kora team have managed to find a better way of cutting down the time it takes to make settlements. Since March this year, the Kora remittance service has been undergoing testing and is expected to go live in September 2018. Nsofor and his team plan to add more services than their current offering in future.

Currently, Kora is targeting people who are banked and live in underserved populace. They also have plans to tailor their services for the unbanked people in Africa.

Blockchain Technology Regulation

While payments are Kora’s main focus, for now, the company believes the blockchain can be used to digitise and empower other sectors like the insurance and loan services and is, therefore, testing other ways in which they can utilise blockchain technology. Kora has also created a token system to incentivise users using their platform to make money transfers.

There has been a lot of push and pull when it comes to regulating cryptocurrencies in Africa. A recent report by Ecobank found out that most African countries are taking a “wait and see” approach towards cryptocurrency regulation. Nigeria has not been any different.

However, Nsofor believes that the blockchain has a lot of potential and that businesses and regulators alike should not fear it. Accepting and acknowledging the technology by African governments would mean that the African continent does not adopt the technology late.

In order to support the adoption of the blockchain in Nigeria, Nsofor said his company is ready to support any blockchain project done by the Central Bank of Nigeria. He believes there is a need to test the technology’s local relevance in all sectors of the Nigerian economy. Naivety or little or no knowledge of the blockchain by African governments could be the two main factors that would cause Africa to miss on the opportunity of adopting the technology. It is for that reason that Nsofor wants African governments to allow and try exploring blockchain technology.

Gideon Orovwiroro, the Head of Operations in Africa at Kora, agrees with Nsofor’s sentiments and believes the greatest hindrance to the technology besides the lack of knowledge by African governments is regulation. In an interview with Techpoint.africa, he said: “A lot of African governments would rather adopt the sit-and-look approach, as opposed to being proactive which is keeping the continent back.”

Kora is keen on working with mobile money operators, licensed mobile transfer operators, businesses in the money service industry as well as banks. Their intention is to work with them using the regulatory framework that the different organisations have developed while waiting until the blockchain gets regulated. The startup is also planning to get a Payment Solution Service Providers license.

Why Africa?

According to Nsofor, there being no African Internet billionaires was the main reason why Africans were late to catch the Internet bubble during the early days and is why he is so keen on championing for the adoption of blockchain technology.

In May 2018, the Kora Network was able to raise $12 million in an initial coin offering (ICO). Looking at the kind of money transfer infrastructure that Kora wants to build, their goal within the next five years is to become “the first $5 billion tech startup in Africa”. And that is not all. They plan “to have a major stake in the financial service market” in Africa in the near future controlling micro-insurance, microcredit and credit scoring among others.

Kora’s game plan is to ensure financial communication within Africa is easy and that there is no currency or distance barrier. Besides, there has been an increase in the number of Global Internet companies that have built payment features interested in the African market a move that is more than welcomed by Nsofor as he believes his startup will be able to compete with them or get acquired.