Kotani Pay API

The Kotani Pay API enables businesses to convert between digital assets and fiat and receive that through local payment channels in Africa. The API provides a single codebase for business with this need. This means businesses can receive money into mobile money or bank accounts in minutes over the Stellar Blockchain through the API.

Kotani Pay SMS/USSD Wallet

The Kotani Pay non-custodial wallet enables both non-internet enabled and internet enabled devices to interact with Blockchain protocols such as Stellar. The user simply dials a short code and is able to transact on the Stellar network. With the SMS wallet, one can receive, send, withdraw and access DeFi services.

We use the stellar blockchain to hold the digital assets on-chain (The blockchain provides holding accounts for wallet users. The user interacts with the on-chain wallet through a USSD interface. Additionally, the Stellar blockchain acts as the transfer layer for on-chain remittance, cash-transfers, cross-border and gig-work transactions. A user sends funds from their blockchain account to another user’s account via Stellar.

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PROBLEM & SOLUTION

In the process of educating communities in Africa on the benefits of Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies,  we realized many of them were essentially locked out because the technology doesn't work for them. This is because most public Blockchain networks build with the smartphone user in mind.

Of the 770 million people in Africa with a mobile phone, 440 million do not have an internet-enabled device. Feature phones are the predominant phone type used in  Africa.  Current blockchain apps require devices with large storage capacity, access to the internet and intuitive knowledge for use.

Without sufficient storage space on phones, users have to prioritize the applications they download. Users prefer messaging applications like WhatsApp, We realized that for a blockchain application to be successful they needed to overcome this challenge. The users do not have access to unlimited or affordable internet connection services making it expensive to run transactions through an app. These complexities make onboarding cumbersome

Kotani Pay is a solution with a focus on financial inclusion and empowerment. Our mission is to serve as a frictionless bridge between digital assets and fiat currencies for new adopters in search of alternative payment systems.

Kotani Pay enables users to access the blockchain via Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD). USSD is the primary mode of the mobile interface for a majority of the population in developing countries.The advantage of leveraging USSD technology is that there is no need for storage space on the user's phone, no need for an internet connection and simplicity of use of the solution.

TARGET MARKET

Kotani Pay offers software tools, technologies and frameworks for blockchain protocols, decentralized applications, blockchain companies and fintech companies looking to connect to users on the continent. Our services, therefore, target different segments;

The humanitarian Space

There is a growing need by humanitarian and non-governmental organizations to offer universal basic payments and remittances to refugees and other vulnerable populations through the use of digital assets. As a typical use case, refugees in humanitarian camps such as Kakuma and Dadaab camps in Kenya receive payments of $1 a day per user through partner organizations such as the World Food Programme and MercyCorps Ventures, easily reaching the end user via Kotani Pay.

The Gig Worker Market

The global gig economy is currently valued at $193 Billion, and it is projected to grow at 17.4% annually.  The Kenyan gig economy was valued at $19.7 Billion in 2019. Kotani Pay will make revenue from processing payments for digital gig work platforms serving three main categories of digital gig work namely: Online FreeLancing, Crowdsourcing & Microwork.

While crypto adoption is increasing, a great challenge in Africa is the problem of low internet connectivity. Unlike mobile money services, most cryptocurrency wallets require internet connectivity to send/receive transactions. Only 39.9% of the African population have some form of internet access,. 7 African countries have internet penetration rates below 10%.

Kotani Pay offers a solution that does not require internet connectivity, serving P2P traders with or without internet connectivity on the continent.

Savings and Lending Market

There are approximately 1.7 billion unbanked adults globally, the majority of whom tend to be young, of the female gender, from poorer households, with a low educational attainment, and out of the labour force. 50% of the 1 Billion people in Africa are under 20, with limited access to financial services to this young population. To meet their financial needs, many Africans opt to create and join small groups where users save together and enable small loans with interest to the group. These groups are correctly referred to and formally recognized as Savings And Credit Cooperative Organizations (SACCOs).

SACCOs help people save and invest, and raise capital for their needs. SACCOs have over 14 million members in Kenya, with $6 Billion in deposits and $8 billion in assets. In Uganda, over 520,000 adults in 2019 were SACCO members.

Kotani Pay enables savings group members served by platforms such as Savings Circles and BezoMoney to save effectively, receive bulk capital through group savings and build a savings and credit history to access formal financial services. Users can withdraw to their mobile money accounts, and apply for loans from the savings group. By offering the blockchain-to-fiat backend service, we anticipate to serve the savings and lending market that is connected to the crypto ecosystem.

REVENUE MODEL

Our business model is a business-to-business-to-customer (B2B2C) model and we charge transaction fees on value transacted on our platform or consultancy fees on advisory services.