A utility token, KamPay to deploy blockchain to bring internet to parts of Africa that do not have it. It is set to open up internet access to the huge populations across the world without internet access.
Digital payments based on blockchain technology will become a necessity for everyday remittance since Central Bank Digital Currencies have been adopted across Africa. Meanwhile, with just 22% of Africans having internet connections (IFC), there is a large number of people that will not be able to benefit from this technology.
This is what KamPay aims to change with the launch of its KamMobile technology which can allow anyone with a mobile phone (650m-50% of Africa) to be able to make use of the blockchain via SMS.
Through a lot of SMS commands, users will be able to create wallets on key blockchains, and eventually be able to deposit and withdraw using the mobile money, as well as be able to conduct P2P transactions. The technology works are similar to the mobile money model that is found in countries like Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Kenya, where users’ funds are kept in a digital account that is linked to their phone number.
KamPay will be aiding its launch in the market through its partnerships with Tingo Mobile PLC that has above 10 million mobile customers, as well as with African Grain and Seed (AGS) to reach millions of farmers across the world.
KamPay and AGS already have an ongoing partnership, providing microlending to 50,000 farmers in the rural side of Zimbabwe. It also ensures the allocation of funds by setting wallets with assignments that can only be used on pre-approved catalogs selected by AGS.
The SMS technology aims to reach across the entire continent and to go beyond rural microlending to being part of millions’ day-to-day. This initiative is supported through other tools that are being launched by KamPay, these include merchant and end-user access to low-fee facilities to allow daily remittance in the world, aiding mass adoption.
Yigal Weinberger, KamPay’s CTO said, “This is a game-changer and the key to making it possible not only for Zimbabwe and Africa as a whole but also for other developing regions struggling with low internet and smartphone penetration challenges to benefit from the advancements of crypto technology”.
According to the KamPay team, KamMobile is still in the development stages and will be launched by the end of the year in 2021 for the ‘SMS to wallet’ set up. The beta version of the mobile money or fiat to crypto purchasing platform will be launched in the first quarter of 2022 while the main rollout is scheduled to be launched in the second quarter of 2022.