Kuvacash - Making Money Better
**Amended proposal (to fit) from DashCentral reproduced below**
View full proposal and discussions at:
https://www.dashcentral.org/p/DASHKuvaCashProject
Previous updates at:
https://www.dash.org/forum/threads/kuvacash-updates-and-news.17344/
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Introduction and Proposal Owner
Thank you for considering this proposal, let me introduce myself and my team.
I am Andreiko ('Drako') Kerdemelidis and have been involved with crypto for over 5 years now starting with Bitcoin, but more recently I have been involved with Dash (since Darkcoin days). I feel that the Dash DAO is unique in the world of cryptocurrencies and aim to help to bring the benefits of Dash to as many people as possible.To this end, me and my colleagues James Saruchera and Steve August (Bio's below) have been working on developing a service to launch Dash in Zimbabwe, where there is presently a cash crisis and a current demand for alternative means to store value and make payments. This service will be called "Kuvacash".
We feel that the time is right to launch this service; Dash is the only cryptocurrency that can be used to make day-to-day instant payments for individuals and businesses and we have a team that can make this happen. By providing the right infrastructure and an easy-to-use app/wallet locally in Harare and wider Zimbabwe, it is possible to land Dash as a true alternative to physical fiat payments.
Our bio's are below, together with links to our Linkedin profiles.
Summary and Goal
This project proposes to launch a Dash-based cryptocurrency service in Zimbabwe, to allow individuals and businesses an easier way to trade while addressing the current cash crisis. Following this, we intend to expand Kuvacash to the wider African continent as an inexpensive and convenient digital-cash service for day-to-day trading and payments.
Background
The current cash crisis in Zimbabwe has proven to be difficult to resolve. Ballooning inflation has led to a collapse of the national currency, forcing the government to issue USD tethered bonds as a stopgap measure. Although the formal economy is worth $4 Billion USD, there is $7 Billion USD in cash currently circulating in the informal economy. Currently, relatively expensive centralised mobile payments comprise more than 82% of all transactions in Zimbabwe. The remainder of trade and payments are made in cash (USD). Because the cash circulates without being replaced, it drives a lucrative trade in providing fresh/cleaned banknotes for a premium of between 10-20%.
We believe Dash is the perfect alternative for making payments in Zimbabwe.
Kuvacash aims to provide a digital payments platform (Dash to Dash) and facilitates payments both in and out of USD fiat (Dash to Cash). It will be extremely popular with the Zimbabwe public and local businesses, as the USD is considered to be the de-facto currency for non-mobile payments and is widely trusted.
The people of Zimbabwe have seen their savings dwindle during several cycles of ultra-inflation, and will benefit hugely by the security in owning a cryptocurrency that is tradable internationally, with trust-less issuance and supply rules. Dash is also the only cryptocurrency that allows instant transactions, which is necessary for rapid day-to-day trading.
Kuvacash Team
The team leading this project has experience in software development and technical operations, trade development, regulated currency exchanges and international payments solutions, consumer insight, branding, and business strategy.
James Saruchera: Managing Director
A creative change expert with more than 10 years' experience in marketing and digital transformation. James is a National Arts Merit Award nominee and holder of two patents with hands-on experience across three continents building world-class challenger brands from the ground up in extremely competitive sectors. He uses the benefits of technology to compete with larger competitors and has developed brands such as: Diageo, Budweiser, 3M, Topshop, Accenture and more.
Andreiko Kerdemelidis: Finance and Technology Director
Andreiko (Drako) is a New Zealand-born digital entrepreneur who connects insight, technology and business strategy to build optimal brand, product and service experiences for people.Drako has built B2B currency exchanges (
www.currencycart.com,
www.regentfx.com), online consumer insight businesses (
www.visionslive.com,
www.teragence.com ) which service top-tier insight brands (GfK, IPSOS, YouGov, Havas). Drako holds a number of patents for which he is principal inventor, including advanced haptics, computer security and peer-to-peer network technology. He has expertise in, and is actively developing strategies and technologies for major blockchain-based cryptocurrencies, with a focus on the field of instant payments, exchange propositions, and smart contracts.
His work spans across several industries such as Banking and Finance (Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Currencycart.com/Regent Foreign Exchange), Telecommunications (Teragence Ltd) and Consumer Insight (Visionslive Ltd).
Steve August: Executive Advisory
Steve is a serial entrepreneur, creative technologist and founder's coach. From 2006 until 2014, he was Founder and CEO of Revelation, a market research software company that he took from idea stage to a multi-million dollar exit. He has taken a lap around the C-Suite and boardrooms in private equity backed companies, serving as CEO, CMO and Chief Innovation Officer. Over the course of is career his companies have served a myriad of world class clients including Facebook, Twitter, Proctor & Gamble, Pfizer, Phillips and many others.
The consistent thread throughout his career has been a fascination with the creative application of technology. You can find his writings on Medium and LinkedIn.
LinkedIn Bios are included below:
www.linkedin.com/in/onlineresearch (Andreiko)
www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-saruchera-7590912 (James)
www.linkedin.com/in/steve-august (Steve)
Project Details
This project will be implemented across several stages to minimise risks to the funding derived from the network and other investment partners. The summary plan and overall model, including financing for the project will be covered in the webinar (see introduction).
Regulatory environment
Zimbabwe has strict financial regulation in place for all forms of currency services, including mobile payments and money transmission. The key to the success of Kuvacash is to align with these regulations. We are engaged with the regulator to operate as an Authorised Dealer with Limited Authority (ADLA) for the purpose of making money remittances on a peer-to-peer basis, including fiat (USD) cash-out.
The operating business itself will be 100% owned by James Saruchera, as only Zimbabwean residents may be shareholders of an ADLA-regulated business. It is necessary to implement a connection to "Exchange Control's Remittance Monitoring and Reporting System" (ECOMORS) for compliance. Collateral must be posted with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe of between $50,000.00 USD (Tier 1, early phase) and $100,000.00 USD (Tier 2, full launch) in order to commence operations.
Business Structure
A holding company based in Delaware, United States, will hold and license intellectual property. A Swiss-based operations company will run technical and exchange operations and license this accordingly to the Kuvacash-regulated entity based in Zimbabwe. The IP holding and licensing company providing technical services will be 100% owned by both James and Andreiko together with additional investors that may be brought on board. This provisional business structure and jurisdiction is subject to more detailed legal advice and ongoing discussions with the regulator.
Technology
To allow for rapid adoption and ease of use for the Zimbabwean market, we will develop a cryptocurrency wallet (based on Copay wallet for Android) that allows peer-to-peer transfers using cryptocurrency network methodologies. We will also provide for payments to be made directly via phone-number-based messaging. It will allow Dash to be bought with cash, and cash to be booked and withdrawn from our ATM infrastructure - a critical factor to drive adoption of the cryptocurrency in the market. Our app will allow users to invite others to download the App and get paid as part of our member-get-member strategy.
We have been in discussions with a major ATM supplier and identified cash-in-transit and storage suppliers. We have developed a cash replenishment model, including an automated cryptocurrency exchange float management method.
Communications
We believe in transparency. Given the nature of the Kuvacash project this is key to maintaining ongoing support from the network and wider stakeholders. Prior to the full proposal passing, we will hold a web conference for interested parties and will endeavour to answer any questions you may have.
We will hold a quarterly briefing via web conference that anyone can request to join, and other briefings at stage-gate milestones. We will also maintain a subscriber mailing list and blog to cover the progress of our project at
https://www.kuvacash.com
Benefits to the Dash DAO and network
If Kuvacash can bring mainstream local adoption of Dash cryptocurrency to the Zimbabwean economy, this would be a world first and would bring considerable media coverage and interest to the cryptocurrency. Dash would see its footprint widened in terms of users, and increase its circulation and transaction volumes. Future phases of the project involve expanding into adjacent countries that have similar cash/liquidity issues (Zambia, Botswana), further increasing adoption.
Although we are asking the network to fund a large proportion of this project, Kuvacash must eventually be profitable and self-sustaining to be viable in the long term and therefore yield real value to the Dash network. This funding will allow for growth in the region (employing local agents, back-office staff, developers etc) and eventually transition to operating as a cash-flow positive business.
Our Vision
Our current focus is on providing a rigorous approach and solution to the Zimbabwean cash crisis; we aim to build a highly scalable peer-to-peer payments system that provides opportunity for unbanked/underbanked populations to more easily participate in the economy, as both consumers and entrepreneurs. We feel that this is a unique opportunity to use our skills and the Dash platform to give users an alternative way to pay and get paid in cryptocurrency, while retaining confidence that they can on and off-ramp from USD fiat at any time.
When appropriate, we will also introduce merchant services that address the needs of the local market, and aim to generate additional revenue from this that ultimately results in a self-sustaining business.
We want to prove that a Dash-based cryptocurrency-backed peer-to-peer payments platform can be established, to learn from the experience and use this as a launch pad into as much of the African continent as possible.
Funding
Dash Kuvacash was funded for 1695 Dash in total over 3 months from September - November (565 Dash per month).
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Please see full proposal links and archived discussions from links at the top of this description for more details.
