Kora is a popular musical instrument in the Western/Eastern region of Africa frequently played in songs of celebration, or to pass a message of hope. Kora is also a project of hope for billions of people who are underserved by the current financial system. While there has been progress toward financial inclusion, an estimated 2 billion adults worldwide don’t have a basic account.1 Barriers to account-opening include distance from a financial service provider, lack of necessary documentation papers, and lack of trust in financial service providers
Problems
Access to financial services is uneven and expensive due to five main barriers
High Cost to Serve
Opening bank branches in rural or remote areas is unprofitable due to high costs such as property fees, staff headcount, and IT infrastructure. To offset these costs, banks charge high fees for account maintenance, ATM withdrawals and money transfers Physical travel is another issue; it can sometimes take more than a day to reach bank branches or ATMs.
Misconception that the Underserved have Little Value
The general perception is that underserved customers would be transacting in “small” amounts. However, PWC estimates that the global unbanked population holds at least $360 billion in unmet deposits in 2016 alone.3 In addition, a 2016 McKinsey report estimates that widespread adoption of financial services through digital finance could result in a $3.2 trillion increase in GDP of all economies by 2025.
Lack of Identification Documents
According to the World Bank, 1.5 billion people worldwide lack any form of valid identification.5 Official or valid ID for opening a bank account is often difficult to obtain in developing countries
Lack of Trust and Technological Understanding
Many people without bank accounts perceive banks as unsafe. There still exists a widespread lack of trust in financial technology, including ATM’s and online banking.
Lack of Financial Literacy
We believe that with limited financial literacy, people may be at risk of making poor financial decisions including taking loans with interest rates they may not be able to pay, getting involved in pyramid schemes, or paying unreasonably high charges on remittances or foreign exchange mark-ups.
Existing Solutions
Banks
Banks continue to account for the majority of financial services worldwide,8 however they do not target the underserved as they are difficult to serve and often lack proper identification.
Mobile money
Mobile Money businesses provide a service that brings value through transaction speed, but interoperability, both between providers, and between countries, is a major issue.9 They also hoard data as a proprietary advantage instead of giving ownership back to the customer
The Kora Ecosystem
We believe Kora will build wealth by creating self-sustaining, community-owned ecosystems. “Selfsustaining” means the wealth in the community as a whole grows, and “community-owned” means participants in the existing community take on most of the key roles within the ecosystem.
EFIAT
eFiat are digital versions of national currencies that are 100% backed by cash reserves, and redeemable on a 1:1 basis. eFiat will increase ease of use and adoption by offering users the benefits of digital currency in a form they understand and trust
for more info visit
https://kora.network/
https://bountyhive.io/join/Kora%20Network
